BX 

S721 


*~~^  •*"*"!    I 


SKEPTICISM 


IB32 


DIVINE     REVELATION, 

UC-NRLF 


LLIS,    M.D., 


>r  of  the  "  Avoidable  Causes  of  Disease."  "Address  to  the  Clergy," 
rhe  Wine  Question  in  the  Light  of  the  New  Dispensation,"  Etc, 


TOPE  OF  MANKIND  AT  THIS  DAY  IS  NOT  IN  LOOKING 
,  ROMAN  CATHOLICISM,  OR  ANY  OF  THE 
F  THE  PAST— BUT  FORWARD  AND  UPWARD  TO  THE 
US.1LEM,  WHICH  IS  NOW,  IN  THIS  NEW  AGE,  DESCEND- 
£  GOD  OUT  OF  HEAVEN,"" 


NEW    YORK: 

iLISHED     BY     THE     AUTHOR, 
•i  8  8 


GIFT  OF 
Professor  G.   R.   Noyes 


SKEPTICISM 


AND 


DIVINE     REVELATION. 


BY 

JOHN    ELLIS,    M.D., 

Author  of  the  "  Avoidable  Causes  of  Disease,"  "Address  to  the  Clergy,'" 
"  The  Wine  Question  in  the  Light  of  the  New  Dispensation,"  Etc. 


THE  TKUE  HOPE  OF  MANKIND  AT  THIS  DAT  10  NOT  IN  LOOKING 
BACH-TO  JUDAISM,    ROMAN    CATHOLICISM,    OR  ANY  OF  THE 

FORMS  o?  THE  PAST— BUT  FOI^VARD  AND  UPWARD  TO  THE 

NEW  JERUSALEM,  YvHICII  13  NOW,  IN  THIS  NEW  AGE,  DESCEND- 
ING  FROM  GOD  OUT  OF  HEAYEN. 


NEW    YORK: 

PUBLISHED     BY     THE     AUTHOR. 
1882. 


1  7  ftl 


IT  has  been  our  aim  in  writing  and  compiling  this  work  to  show. 
in  the  light  of  revelation,  to  human  reason  — 

1st.  That  there  is  a  known  personal  Gcd,  who  has  revealed  Him- 
self to  us  as  a  Divine  Man  in  His  Word  ;  and  also  in  man  and  in  the 
works  of  creation  which  surround  us,  when  the  latter  axe  viewed 
in  the  light  of  revelation. 

2d.  That  the  material  universe  and  man  have  been  created  from 
the  spiritual  world,  and  that  all  material  objects  and  forms  are  but 
manifestations  of  affections  and  thoughts  primarily  from  God,  even 
if  secondarily  from  man,  either  as  a  true  or  perverted  image  of  God. 
As  all  of  man's  words  and  works  spring  from,  or  are  caused  by, 
his  affections  and  thoughts,  which  are  spiritual,  the  former  neces- 
sarily correspond  to  the  latter,  as  an  effect  does  to  its  cause.  So  all 
of  God's  words  and  works  must  spring  from,  or  be  caused  by,  His 
affections  and  thoughts,  and  the  latter  must  necessarily  corres- 
pond to  the  former,  as  effects  do  to  their  causes  ;  therefore,  as  God's 
works  are  infilled  .with  life,  and  Jn^  this  respect  differ  totally  from 
the  works  of  majt,  «oMf  lje/rijisj$fr$n  Jus  a  Word,  containing  spirit- 
ual knowledge,  it*rnT*§t  differ  ^icTra  £h«  words  of  man  by  being  full 
of  spirit  and  lU'eflUiQ«His«w4>fks»  •  •  ... 

3d.  Thqjb.\h$  :?4cfel  ISiripJufes  ja^.written  according  to  this 
science  of  correspoifds'nc&s  be'tvve'eM  *na£ufal  and  spiritual  things  ; 
consequently  God's  Word  and  His  works  can  never  conflict,  what- 
ever the  appearance. 

4th  That  the  Lord  at  this  day  has  revealed  to  us  the  correspond- 
ences in  accordance  with  which  the  Sacred  Scriptures  were  written, 
and  by  which  they  must  be  interpreted,  if  man  is  to  ba  able  to  see 
and  know  the  interpretation  to  be  true,  as  lie  knows  any  of  the  in- 
terpretations of  the  natural  sciences  to  be  true.  By  the  aid  of  this 
newly  revealed  science,  we  find  that  the  Sacred  Scriptures  have  a 
connected  spiritual  sense  which  is  never  contradictory. 

5ih.  That  this  revelation  of  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Divine 
Word,  and  True  Doctrines,  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecies  in 
regard  to  the  Lord's  Second  Coming. 

Our  chief  object  has  been  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the 
revelations  made  by  the  Lord  for  the  benefit  of  this  new,  this  crown 
ing  and  endless  age  which  is  dawning  upon  us. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  PAGB 

I.  A  Personal  God 1 

II.  Special  Revelation  from  a  Personal  God 3 

III.  Have  we  any  Special  Revelations  from,  a  Personal 

God? 5 

IV.  The  First  Chapters  of  Genesis 21 

V.  Genesis,  Chapter  First,  and  Creation 26 

VI.  Brief  Exposition  of  the  Internal  Sense  of  the  First 

Chapter  of  Genesis 29 

VTL  The  Creation  of  Man  and  Woman  (as  described  in  the 
First  Chapter  of  Genesis,  and  as  described  in  the 

Second).    . . 37 

VIII.   Eve 45 

IX.  The  Garden  of  Eden — Its  Trees  and  River 47 

X.  The  Fall  of  Man — The  Serpent  and  Curse  Introduced 

into  the  World , 53 

XI.   Cain  and  Abel 61 

XII.   The  Flood— General  .Remarks 65 

XIII.  Noah 69 

XIV.  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth  71 

XV.   The  Flood  of  Waters 74 

XVI.  The  Ark 81 

XVII.   The  Tower  of  Babel 88 

XVIII.  Sun  Worship  and  Idolatry— Their  Origin 94 

XIX.   Spiritualism 105 

XX.  Mediate  Revelation  by  the  Word,  or  Immediate  by 

Spirits—Which  is  Preferable  ? 116 

M75886 


IT  CONTENTS. 

BECTION  PAGE 

XXI.   An  Appeal  to  Spiritualists  in  behalf  of  the  Writings 

of  Emanuel  Swedenborg 123 

XXII.   Doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem 12D 

XXIII.  The   Incarnation — Was  there  any  Violation   of   the 

Laws  of  Nature? — Why  the  Lord  came  to  this 
Earth?— "  What  bqcarne  of  the  Universe,  during 
His  Incarnation  ?  " 133 

XXIV.  The  Divine  Trinity,  and  the  Trinity  in  Man 153 

XXV.  Sacrificial  Worship— Its  True  Significance 170 

XXVI.   The  Cross 180 

XXVII.  A  True  and  Heavenly  Life 184 

XXVIH.   The  End  of  the  World,  and  the  Second  Coming  of  the 

Lord 191 

XXIX.  The  Eesurrection— When  It  Occurs 202 

XXX.   The  State  of  Infants  in  the  Other  Life 218 

XXXI.  On  the  State  of  the  Heathen  and  Gentiles  in  Another 

Life 221 

XXXII.  The  New  Jerusalem— The  Church  of  the  Future— 

The  Crown  of  all  Churches ." 229 

XXXIII.   The  Divine  Promise  to  those  who  receive  the  New 

Jerusalem  at  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord 247 

XXXTV.  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  the  Seer ^. .        257 


SKEPTICISM 

AND 

DIVINE    REVELATION. 


I.     f,    /     ;  ,;    -     /{C    1    : 
A  Personal  God. 

THAT  there  is  a  personal  God,  or  Creator,  it  would 
seein  must  be  manifest  to  every  enlightened  and 
thoughtful  individual  who  has  ever  had  the  idea  of 
such  a  being  properly  and  truly  presented  to  him,  and  who 
observes  and  reflects  upon  the  works  of  creation.  In  all 
created  things,  in  the  animal,  vegetable  and  mineral  king- 
doms, he  sees  evidences  of  design,  of  careful  thought,  and 
the  most  wonderful  adaptation  of  individual  parts,  and 
their  uses  to  whole  structures.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
works  of  man  which  will  compare  in  this  respect  with  the 
works  of  creation,  which  we  behold  around  us  on  every 
hand,  from  the  smallest  atom,  vegetable  and  insect,  to  the 
vast  suns  and  their  surrounding  planets.  If  we  were  to 
find  a  beautiful  piece  of  man-made  machinery  which  we 
had  never  seen  before,  what  would  be  our  first  thought  ? 
Would  it  be  thac  it  had  either  come  by  chance,  or  was  the 
work  of  the  general  mind  of  men,  or  would  it  not  be  that 
it  was  the  work  of  some  individual  or  personal  man  or 
men.  Do  we  ever  find  anything  of  human  production,- 
manifesting  thought  and  design,  which  has  not  been  made 
by  s&sae  individual  or  personal  man  or  men?  How 
unreasonable  then  to  think  for  a  moment  that  the  beauti- 
ful forms  and  structures,  filled  with  life,  around  us,  mani- 
festing in  an  infinite  degree  thought  and  design,  are  not 
the  works  of  a  personal  being  or  Creator.  Geology  shows 
that  they  did  Dot  always  exist. 


2  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

If  there  is  a  personal  Creator,  it  is  evident  that  he  must 
have  had  some  object,  design,  or  end  in  view,  in  creating 
the  universe,  worthy  of  such  a  being.  Unaided  by  revela- 
tion from  our  Creator,  we  might  hare  wandered  in  dark- 
ness and  never  have  been  able  to  see  or  comprehend  the 
reason  why  the  universe  was  created,  for  a  goodly  number 
of.cur^cie'ntlffccWen  of  this  day,  who  ignore  Divine  Reve- 
lati'ori','  have  manifested  to  us  how  utterly  impossible  it  is 
i'ojr;  ^t6/c;rigJ:dssefl  fti  tfbientific  investigations  and  pur- 
jk§t$,c*&iiaided  eeby?  ,re^elation,  to  comprehend  or  even 
perceive  spiritual  truths,  or  the  spiritual  side  of  creation 
and  of  man's  nature. 

But  the  sacred  Scriptures  intimate  to  us,  and  the  reve- 
lations made  by  the  Lord  for  the  benefit  of  this  perverted 
and  skeptical  age,  through  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  teach 
us  that  the  object  of  the  material  creation  and  universe 
was  that  man  might  be  created  in  the. image  and  likeness 
of  his*  Creator,  capable  of  loving,  reverencing,  and  serving 
Him  and  his  fellow  or  neighbor;  and  that  from  man  an 
angelic  heaven  of  intelligent,  rational,  and  happy  beings 
might  be  created,  who  should  forever  reverence,  recipro- 
cate His  love,  and  serve,  by  doing  good  to  each  other,  and 
worship  Him,  not  for  His  own  sake  or  glory,  but  for  their 
own  good,  that  they  might  realize  that  they  individually 
are  but  recipients  of  life,  all  brethren — God  the  giver  of  all 
life,  all  truth,  and  of  all  goodness.  Can  we  imagine  a 
more  worthy  object  for  the  creation  of  the  universe  than 
this  ? 

If,  then,  we  are  prepared  to  admit  that  this  wonderful 
universe  lias  been  created  by  an  intelligent  Personal  Being 
for  the  sake  of  making  man  in  his  own  image,  capable  of 
becoming  by  the  proper  use  of  the  freedom  of  will  with 
which  he  is  endowed,  intelligent,  wise  and  happy,  can  we 
for  a  moment  suppose  that  such  a  Creator,  after  endowing 
man  with  rationality,  conscience,  and  freedom  of  will, 
capable  of  the  most  terrible  perversions  and  suffering, 
could  by  any  possibility,  if  he  is  a  wise  and  loving  Father, 


SPECIAL   REVELATIONS   FROM  A   PERSONAL   GOD.          3 

as  all  His  works  manifest,  leave  man  without  any  more 
special  manifestation  of  His  will,  than  he  can  gather  from 
the  dim  light  of  nature — without  any  direct  positive  in- 
struction as  to  his  destiny,  or  on  whom  he  is  dependent 
for  his  existence,  or  how  he  should  conduct  himself  so  as 
to  reach  the  highest  state  of  intelligence,,  goodness  and 
happiness?  Would  an  earthly  parent  thus  leave  the  child 
he  loves,  to  grope  in  darkness  ?  And  if  he  would  not, 
how  can  we  attribute  such  an  unnatural  course  to  our 
Heavenly  Father  ?  It  would  seem,  then,  if  there  is  a 
personal  God,  as  enlightened  reason  plainly  assures  us, 
and  he  is  our  Creator,  an  intelligent  and  loving  Father, 
that  He  should  have  given  to  his  children  some  knowledge 
of  Himself  and  some  manifestation  of  His  will,  some  rules 
of  life  to  guide  them  here  and  to  heaven  hereafter.  Would 
it  seem  unreasonable  that  a  Father,  who  in  his  great  love 
has  created  this  vast  and  wonderful  universe  for  man,  that 
he  might  be  the  recipient  of  His  love,  should  personally 
manifest  Himself  to  His  creatures  whom  he  has  created 
and  endowed  with  rationality,  freedom  and  conscience  ? 
The  yearning  heart  of  every  earthly  parent  and  of  every 
child  of  an  earthly  parent  answers  No.  That  He  should 
not  only  manifest  himself  in  a  personal  form  to  the  chil- 
dren whom  he  has  created,  that  they  may  have  an  object 
for  reverence  and  worship,  and  not  bow  down  to  an  im- 
personal or  unknown  God,  but  also  give  them,  as  He  may 
see  they  need,  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept  of 
useful  instruction,  seems  evident.  Has  He  done  it  ?  and 
first  as  to  special  revelations. 

II. 

Special  Revelations  from  a  Personal  God. 
\  Y  special  revelations  from  the  Lord  are  meant  reve- 


lations either  to  or  through  individual  men  or 
women.  The  first  thought  which  occurs  is,  "  why  should  our 
Creator,  if  He  is  impartial,  good,  and  merciful,  reveal  truth 


4  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

to  one  man,  or  apparently  favor  him  more  than  others,  in 
this  respect  ?  "  There  are  many  reasons  for  His  selecting 
individual  men  for  such  a  mission,  either  one  of  which 
would  seem  satisfactory.  Eevelations  are  not  made  simply 
for  the  benefit  of  the  individual,  but  that  the  truths  may 
be  taught  to  others,  and:  handed  down  to  posterity  either 
by  tradition  or  in  a  written  form;  and,  to  say  the  least; 
it  is  often  doubtful  whether  the  revelator  is  specially 
favored  at  all  or  not  A  man  to  be  benefited  by  truth 
must  receive  it  in  freedom,  and  not  only  receive  it  into  hia 
understanding,  but  he  must  also  live  according  to  it,  and 
thus  weave  it  into  the  very  fibres  of  his  spiritual  organiza- 
tion, or  it  will  do  him  no  good.  If  he  fails  to  shape  his 
life,  or  walk  according  to  the  truth,  he  will  profane  it;  or, 
in  other  words,  by  the  light  which  he  has  received  he  will 
be  enabled  to  sink  himself  deeper  into  evil  and  consequent 
suffering.  If  direct  revelations  were  made  to  all  men, 
irrespective  of  their  state,  it  is  certain  that  many  might  be 
compelled,  as  it  were,  to  believe  who  have  no  desire  to  live 
a  good  and  true  life,  and  therefore  would  be  very  seriously 
injured  by  such  revelations ;  but  when  the  truth  is  taught 
to  them  by  their  fellow-men,  or  handed  down  by  tradition, 
or  in  a  written  form,  it  comes  with  less  authority,  and  does 
not  interfere  with  their  freedom  or  compel  them  to  believe, 
and  they  can  receive  or  reject  it,  according  to  the  state  of 
their  affections; — having  eyes  they  can  see  not, having  ears 
they  may  hear  not — not  receiving  the  truth  they  do  not 
profane  it,  and  consequently  it  does  them  comparatively 
little  harm.  The  "flaming  sword"  of  self-love  is  placed  at 
the  east  of  the  garden,  in  the  mind  of  the  evil  man,  to  pro- 
tect the  truth  from  profanation ;  fortunately,  it  is  rarely 
sheathed  except  by  repentance,  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  a 
sincere  effort  to  lead  a  good  life.  Consequently,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  an  evil  man  cannot  see  genuine  spiritual  truths, 
which  is  very  fortunate  for  him.  Here  then  would  seem 
to  be  a  very  satisfactory  reason  why  the  Lord  does  not 
directly  reveal  truth  to  all  men.  Then,  all  men  are  not  in 


HAVE  WE  AKY   SPECIAL  BEVELATIONS  ?  5 

a  proper  state,  but  our  Creator  seeing  the  hearts  and 
capacity  of  all  can  select  the  best,  or  the  one  least  likely  to 
be  injured  by  the  truth  to  be  revealed.  If  it  is  simply  to 
write  the  words  dictated  by  Him,  it  would  seem  possible 
that  the  man  chosen  need  not  necessarily  be  a  good  man, 
but  one  protected  by  the  flaming  sword  of  self-love  from 
seeing  the  truth  revealed  in  its  true  light,  and  thus  from 
being  injured  by  it;  and  the  love  of  glory  or  fame  might 
lead  such  a  man  to  proclaim  the  truth  with  zeal,  and 
others  be  benefited  thereby,  and  himself  not  injured. 

III. 

Have  we  any  Special  Revelations  from  a  Per- 
sonal God? 


is  a  practical  question,  and  one  which  no  sensible 
man  will  hastily  decide  in  the  negative.  The  cer- 
tainty of  there  being  a  personal  Creator,  and  the  equal 
certainty,  if  there  is  such  a  being,  of  whom  man  when 
regenerated  is  the  image  and  likeness,  that  He  would  reveal 
to  mankind  such  truths  as  are  essential  to  be  lived  by  us, 
that  we  may  be  happy  here  and  hereafter,  have  been  con- 
sidered already.  It  becomes  then,  every  man  who  is  skep- 
tically inclined,  with  due  reverence  and  humility,  to  look 
for  such  a  revelation,  or  such  revelations  ;  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  not  to  look  with  a  combative  or  negative  spirit, 
for  such  a  spirit  is  of  necessity  almost,  if  not  quite,  a  bar 
to  the  truth  being  seen.  You  attempt  to  show  a  man  a 
house  —  yes,  a  beautiful  house  for  human  habitation  —  he, 
unfortunately,  is  naturally,  as  most  men  are  spiritually,  a 
little  near-sighted  ;  and  instead  of  waiting  until  he  has 
seen  the  entire  house  and  can  form  a  general  idea  of  it,  as 
you  approach  the  gate  or  the  outer  door  he  begins  to  cavil 
and  deny  that  that  door  is  a  house,  or  any  part  of  a  house, 
as  it  does  not  swing  in  the  direction  or  manner  the  door  to 
his  house  has  always  swung;  or  his  house  has  no  outer 
door.  You  call  his  attention  to  a  beautiful  window, 


6  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

Gothic  perhaps  in  form ;  but  this  is  not  like  the  window 
in  his  house,  it  is  obstructed  with  glass,  which  to  you  has 
a  use,  but  without  waiting  to  understand  this  use,  he 
decides  at  once  it  is  no  part  of  a  house,  or  at  least  of  a 
suitable  house  for  him  to  live  in;  and  so  you  go  on 
throughout  your  entire  house,  showing  him  all  parts  of  it, 
its  halls,  its  rooms,  its  furniture,  etc.,  and  he  denying  and 
combating  at  every  step.  Can  you  convince  such  a  man  ? 
Never !  In  our  Father's  house  are  many  beautiful  man- 
sions, but  from  a  negative  and  combative  state  a  man  can 
never  see  or  reside  in  one  of  them.  We  must  come  like 
little  children,  in  a  teachable  spirit,  not  to  believe  blindly 
everything  which  is  told  us,  or  which  we  read,  but  to  use 
the  reason  with  which  God  has  endowed  us,  to  judge  after 
a  fair  survey  between  truth  and  error.  If  we  come  in 
such  a  spirit,  and  shape  our  lives  according  to  the  truth, 
the  Lord  will  lead  us  into  one  of  His  many  beautiful  man- 
sions. 

As  it  will  be  our  aim  not  to  write  this  treatise  from  a 
negative  spirit,  but  from  an  affirmative  state,  we  will  here 
make  a  general  statement,  and  afterwards  consider  it  more 
fully  in  detail.  Not  that  we  expect  in  the  short  space  we 
have  allotted  to  ourselves  to  set  before  the  reader  evidence 
enough  to  satisfy  all,  but  we  do  hope  to  call  the  attention 
of  many  an  earnest  enquirer  to  a  serious  examination  of 
the  writings  which  have,  aftpr  a  patient  and  careful  ex- 
amination, so  fully  and  happily  satisfied  us,  and  increasing 
thousands  of  intelligent  men  and  women. 

Although  born  and  educated  in  a  Christian  country,  and 
accustomed  to  read  the  Bible  from  childhood,  and  to  sit 
under  the  ministrations  of  religious  teachers,  not  a  few, 
owing  to  the  apparent  conflict  which  seems  to  exist  be- 
tween the  Word  of  God  in  its  letter  and  His  works,  which 
has  been  so  clearly  developed  by  the  scientific  researches 
of  this  day,  have  been  led  to  doubt,  and  some  unfortu- 
nately openly  to  deny,  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  are  either 
revelations  from  God,  or  entitled  to  any  more  respect  than 


HA  YE   WE   ANY  SPECIAL   REVELATIONS?  7 

the  acknowledged  writings  of  men.  It  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed for  a  moment,  by  any  liberal-minded  man,  that  all 
such  doubters  are  either  dishonest  or  that  they  do  not 
desire  the  truth ;  the  young,  especially  in  the  flush  of  scien- 
tific investigations,  are  liable  to  be  led  into  such  doubts, 
and  it  is  but  too  evident  that  religious  teachers,  by  the 
light  afforded  by  the  letter  of  the  Bible  alone,  have  not 
been  able  to  either  shield  them  or  deliver  them  from  such 
doubts.  But  the  Lord  does  not  leave  Himself  without  a 
witness ;  consequently  in  the  Gospels  and  Book  of  Keve- 
lation,  He  promises  a  second  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
Heaven — not  the  clouds  of  earth,  please  bear  in  mind. 
When  on  earth,  our  Saviour  declared  that  He  had  many 
things  to  tell  men,  but  mankind  then  were  not  in  a  state 
to  receive  them.  As  a  kind  parent  does  to  his  child,  so 
our  Heavenly  Father  adapts  His  instruction,  or  revela- 
tions, to  the  capacity  and  needs  of  His  children.  At  an 
.  age  when  the  earth  seemed  to  men,  and  was  believed  to  be 
the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  the  sun,  moon  and  stars 
were  supposed  to  make  a  journey  around  it  daily,  the 
Lord  was  supposed  to  be  angry,  revengeful,  even  hating 
some  of  the  creatures  He  had  made.  Such  was  the  lan- 
guage of  God's  works  and  of  His  Word  to  the  untutored 
men  of  those  dark  ages — the  one  in  strict  harmony  with 
the  other.  But  the  enlightened  science  of  this  day  shows 
that  the  supposed  motion  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  was 
only  an  apparent  truth — not  a  real  truth,  the  real  truth 
being  that  day  and  night  are  caused  by  the  motion  of  the 
earth — when  it  turns  from  the  sun  it  is  night.  So  a 
spiritual  revelation  in  keeping  with  the  natural  science  of 
to-day,  must  show  that  the  supposed  anger,  revengefulness 
and  hatred  attributed  to  God,  are  but  apparent  truths, 
adapted  to  the  state  of  mankind  when  given ;  and  men 
were  permitted  to  dwell  in  such  apparent  truths  for  the 
sake  of  being  restrained  by  their  fears,  and  because  they 
were  not  capable  of  comprehending  or  being  benefited  by 
real  truths.  The  real  truth  being,  that  God  is  never 


8  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

angry,  never  hates  and  is  never  revengeful,  but  He  is  love 
and  unchangeable,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 
His  tender  mercies  are  around  all  His  creatures;  but 
when  man  turns  from  the  Lord  to  himself,  and  seeks 
selfish  ends,  instead  of  regarding  the  rights  of  others,  and 
perverts  his  God-given  passions  and  appetites  to  purely 
sensual  and  selfish  gratification  irrespective  of  their  legiti- 
mate use,  making  their  gratification  the  chief  object  of  his 
life,  thus  turning  from  the  Lord  to  self,  mental  darkness 
overshadows  him ;  and  when  he  begins  to  suffer  the  legiti- 
mate consequences,  or,  if  you  please,  punishments  which 
necessarily  follow  from  the  violation  of  the  spiritual  and 
physical  laws  of  his  being,  which  the  Lord  has  ordained 
for  his  good,  it  seems  to  him-that  God  is  angry  with  him 
and  hates  him ;  and  who  will  not  say  that  it  is  well  that 
he  has  been  permitted  to  remain  in  this  apparent  truth. 

But  the  men  of  this  day  are  rapidly  outgrowing  the 
state  in  which  they  can  be  restrained  by  the  apparent 
truths  of  God's  Word,  for  they  are  fast  losing  their  belief 
in  and  reverence  for  a  personal  God  and  all  revelations  from 
such  a  being.  Even  the  fears  of  a  literal  hell  are  being 
shaken  off,  and  men  no  longer  tremble  before  the  ana- 
themas of  the  most  venerable  churches,  or  the  denunciation 
of  their  clergymen. 

Look  around,  reader,  upon  the  confusion  in  the  religious 
world,  the  manifestations  of  sectarianism,  the  love  of  rule 
in  spiritual  things,  the  growing  skepticism,  the  Lo  here  and 
Lo  there,  and  tell  us  if  it  is  not  time  for  us  to  be  looking 
for  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
and  for  the  new  order  of  things  which  he  has  promised  us 
in  His  Word,  when  He  declared,  "Behold  I  make  all 
things  new/'  Look  at  the  wonderful  strides  being  made 
in  the  mechanical  arts  and  in  the  sciences,  and  remember 
the  order  of  creation  and  regeneration  is,  first  that  which 
is  natural  and  afterwards  that  which  is  spiritual.  This  is 
the  true  order  with  the  individual  man,  and  it  is  true 
with  the  race. 


HATE   WE   A2*Y    SPECIAL   KEVELATIOKS  ?  9 

Emanuel  Swedenborg,  the  son  of  a  Bishop  of  the  Church 
of  Sweden,  who  lived  over  a  century  ago,  was  thoroughly 
educated  and  trained  in  the  sciences  of  his  day,  and  de- 
voted his  life  until  he  was  over  54  years  of  age  to  scien- 
tific and  mechanical  pursuits,  when,  he  assures  us  in  his 
writings,  he  was  called  by  the  Lord  from  his  scientific 
labors  to  the  important  mission  of  revealing  to  the 
world  for  the  benefit  of  all  Christians  and  others,  the 
truths  of  a  New  Dispensation,  or  of  the  Second  Coming  of 
the  Lord.  He  assures  us  that  his  spiritual  sight  was 
opened,  as  it  was  with  the  prophets,  St.  Paul  and  John 
the  revelator ;  that  he  was  permitted  to  see  the  inhabitants 
of  the  spiritual  world,  including  those  of  heaven  and  hell, 
and  to  describe  them  and  their  condition,  and  to  show  the 
relation  which  the  acts  and  deeds  of  this  life  have  upon 
the  future  life;  and  he  wrote  a  work  entitled,  "Heaven, 
the  World  of  Spirits  and  Hell;  from  things  seen  and 
heard ;"  full  of  the  most  useful  and  practical  instruction. 
Interspersed  throughout  his  other  works  are  relations  of 
what  he  claims  to  have  seen  and  heard  in  the  spiritual 
world.  He  shows  conclusively  that  the  spiritual  world  is 
the  world  of  causes,  the  real,  the  living  world,  and  the 
natural  world  the  world  of  effects:  from  this  it  follows 
that  there  is  a  strict  correspondence  between  every  object 
in  this  world  and  its  cause  in  the  spiritual  world. 

As  is  truly  said  by  the  Kev.  George  Field,  in  his  work 
entitled  "  The  Two  Great  Books  of  Nature  and  Eevela- 
tion,"  which  work  will  richly  repay  both  the  theological 
and  scientific  student  for  a  careful  perusal,  and  from 
which  we  shall  not  unfrequently  quote  in  the  following 
pages : 

"  The  natural  universe  is  therefore  but  an  outer  form  of 
the  Divine  mind ;  and  all  its  multitudinous  contents  are 
but  so  many  symbols  of  the  varied  truths  and  affections 
existing  in  the  world  of  mind.  Thus  the  creation  is,  as  it 
were,  the  alphabet  of  the  Creator ;  and  it  is  by  its  types 
that  the  Creator  speaketh !  Or,  as  the  apostle  wrote,  '  The 


10  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

invisible  things  of  Him  [God]  from  the  Creation  of  the 
world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things 
that  are  made '  (Rom.  i.  20).  A  doctrine  as  old  as  the 
world,  and  taught  by  Hermes  Trismegistus  (the  Egyptian 
Thoth,  some  2000  years  before  it  was  thus  reiterated  by 
Paul.  His  words  in  English  are,  'All  things  that  are  in 
heaven,  are  in  the  earth  in  an  earthly  form  ;  and  all  things 
that  are  in  the  earth,  are  in  heaven  in  a  heavenly  form.9 
Which  sentiment  is  thus  transferred  to  poetry  by  Milton : 

'  What  if  earth 

Be  but  the  shadow  of  heaven  :  and  things  therein 
Each  to  other  like,  more  than  on  earth  is  thought.' 

"How  immense — how  wonderful  is  the  idea  that  the 
ivorks  of  the  Creator  should  be  the  signs  for  the  words  of 
His  revelation  I  and  that  the  one  is  to  the  other  as  the 
soul  is  to  the  body,  and  the  mystic  chain  which  binds 
them  is  correspondence,  or  the  relation  which  exists  by  cre- 
ation between  spiritual  and  natural  things. 

" '  To  the  most  ancient  people/  says  Mr.  Kirby,  '  the  cre- 
ation was  a  Book  of  Symbols,  a  sacred  language  of  which 
they  possessed  the  key,  and  which  it  was  their  delight  to 
study  and  decipher/  (Introduction  to  Entomology. )  Cor- 
respondence is  the  necessary  relation  subsisting  between 
things  spiritual  and  things  natural,  or  between  thoughts 
and  their  outward  images :  thus,  not  as  might  be  inferred, 
that  one  natural  thing  corresponds  to  another  natural 
thing,  as  this  would  be  merely  arbitrary  or  speculative,  for 
though  one  may  illustrate  the  other,  it  does  not  correspond 
to  it,  or  have  any  necessary  relation  to  it.  Actions  corres- 
pond to  feelings:  words  correspond  to  thoughts:  sounds 
or  intonations  correspond  to  the  quality  of  the  affection, 
because  they  actually  produce  them.  So  every  object  in 
nature  corresponds  first  to  its  prototype  in  the  Divine 
mind,  and  secondarily  to  its  antitype  in  the  human  mind, 
by  as  fixed  and  immutable  a  law  as  that  effects  are  pro- 
duced by  causes."' 


HAVE  WE  ANY  SPECIAL   REVELATIONS?  11 

In  a  work  by  the  late  Prof.  Agassiz  on  Lake  Superior, 
he  says:  "There  will  be  no  scientific  evidence  of  God's 
working  in  nature,  until  naturalists  have  shown  that  the 
whole  creation  is  the  expression  of  a  thought,  and  not  the 
product  of  physical  agents ; "  and  he  adds,  "  Let  the  natu- 
ralists look  at  the  world  under  such  impressions,  and 
evidence  will  pour  in  upon  us,  that  all  creatures  are  ex- 
pressions of  the  thoughts  of  Him  whom  we  know,  love, 
and  adore  unseen." 

That  Man  is  not  only  the  final  end  of  Creation,  but  that 
God,  the  Creator,  must  have  been  the  Infinite  Divine  Pat- 
tern— the  self-existent  Divinely  Human  Fountain,  is  also 
thus  forcibly  presented  by  Agassiz:  " Man  (he  says),  is  the 
end  to  which  all  the  animal  creation  has  tended  from  the 
first  appearance  of  the  first  Palaeozoic  fishes."  But.  says 
Hugh  Miller,  "  No  longer,  however,  the  natural,  but  the 
DIVINE  MAN — occupying  what  is  at  once  its  terminal 
point,  and  its  highest  apex." — Testimony  of  the  Rocks,  pp. 
229-235. 

In  the  late  Mr.  Bancroft's  speech  before  the  ISTew  York 
Historical  Society  he  says:  "The  comparative  anatomist 
has  shown  that  all  created  vertebrae,  without  exception, 
are  analogous,  so  that  the  induction  becomes  irresistible 
that  an  archetype  existed  previous  to  the  creation,  of  the 
first  of  the  kind.  Shall  we  then  hesitate  to  believe  that 
the  system  of  law  likewise  pervades  the  moral  world  ?  We 
cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  established  fact  that  an  ideal, 
or  archetype,  prescribed  the  form  of  animal  life  ;  and  shall 
we  not  believe  that  the  type  of  all  intellectual  life,  likewise 
exists  in  the  Divine  Mind  ?  " 

According  to  this  science  of  correspondences — which 
Swedenborg  has  shown  is  the  science  of  all  sciences — the 
sacred  Scriptures  were  written,  consequently  they  can  only 
be  correctly  interpreted  in  accordance  with  this  universal 
science.  A  correct  interpretation  therefore  cannot  be 
arbitrary,  but  it  must  be  in  accordance  with  rules  and 
laws,  and  can  never  conflict  with  natural  science,  nor  can 


12  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

one  portion  of  the  Word  of  God,  when  correctly  inter- 
preted, ever  conflict  with  another  portion.  He  has  shown, 
consequently,  that  the  Word  of  God,  like  His  works,  is 
filled  with  life,  and  differs  as  much  from  the  writings  of 
men  as  His  works  do  from  the  works  of  men.  The  sacred 
Scriptures  then  have  not  only  a  literal  sense,  but  also  a 
connected  spiritual  sense  running  throughout,  and  within, 
as  the  soul  is  within  the  body. 

The  Lord  intimates  in  many  passages  that  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  or  His  words,  contain  a  spiritual  sense,  as  in 
the  following :  "It  is  the  spirit  that  quickeneth  ;  the  flesh 
profiteth  nothing;  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they 
are  spirit  and  they  are  life."  "The  letter  killeth,  but  the 
spirit  giveth  life." 

"The  Lord,"  says  the  Rev.  John  Hyde,  "spoke  in 
parables  to  the  Jews;  and  further  it  is  declared  that, 
'  Without  a  parable  spake  He  not  to  them'  (Matt.  xiii.  34). 
All  that  the  Lord  uttered  was  a  parable;  and  was  a  para- 
ble because  it  possessed  an  inner  meaning  recognizable  by 
the  instructed,  but  veiled  from  the  unbelieving.  That  He 
adopted  this  method,  even  with  His  disciples,  is  evident 
from  many  passages.  '  If  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it 
out.  If  thy  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off/  '  Except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have 
no  life  in  you.'  '  He  that  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his 
coat  and  buy  one.'  There  was  a  Divine  signification  in 
His  words,  because  He  was  Divine  who  uttered  them. 
The  words  were  but  the  outer  covering  of  the  Divine 
meaning,  just  as  His  flesh  was  but  the  outer  covering  of 
the  Divine  man.  It  was  this  inner  ' spirit  and  life'  that 
profited  them,  and  that  will  profit  us  to  know.  In  this 
inner  or  higher  sense,  all  the  Scriptures  testified  of  Him. 
'  The  spirit  of  prophecy  was  the  testimony  of  Jesus.' 

"  Paul,  in  like  manner,  interprets  the  Sacred  Word.  To 
him,  the  '  Jews  after  the  flesh'  were  but  types  of  'the  Jews 
after  the  Spirit ;'  '  circumcision  after  the  flesh '  the 
symbol  of  ' circumcision  of  the  heart.'  He  asserts  that 


HAVE   WE  AKY   SPECIAL   REVELATIONS?  13 

the  rock  from  which  the  Israelites  drank  was  the  figure  of 
the  'spiritaal  rock,  which  is  Christ;'  the  tabernacle  and 
its  ceremonies,  the  holy  of  holies  and  its  yearly  entrance, 
were  but  ( symbols  of  the  true;'  that  Jerusalem  below  was 
the  typa  of  "'Jerusalem  that  is  above,  the  mother  of  us  all;9 
that  the  earthly  Zion  was  but  the  figure  of  '  the  Mount 
Zion,  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem/ 
to  which. all  the  disciples  of  Christ  had  come  ;  that  Abra- 
ham and  his  two  sons  were  'an  allegory ;'  that  Melchisedec 
was  a  type  of  Christ,  as  also  were  the  high  priests. 

"The  whole  of  the  Hebrews  is  but  an  exposition  of 
typical  or  symbolic  interpretation,  and  it  abounds  in  con- 
firmations of  the  statement  of  David,  that  the  history  of 
the  Israelites  was  'a  PARABLE.'  Into  the  sublime  halls  of 
such  spiritual  interpretation  he  conducts  us,  and  justifies 
our  belief  in  an  everywhere-present  spiritual  sense,  by 
many  a  glimpse  of  its  presence,  where  else  it  had  lain  con- 
cealed. He  teaches  us  us  he  taught  his  disciple  Timothy, 
that  'all  Scripture  is  God-breathed  (given  by  inspiration 
of  God),  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness  ;  that  the  man 
of  God  may  be  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works' 
(2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17);  given  by  God  to  every  man,  that 
every  man  may  thus  become  perfect ;  of  universal  impor- 
tance because  of  universal  application.  Every  word  of  it, 
consequently,  treating  of  spiritual  things,  eternal  in  its 
interests,  and  to  be  spiritually  understood." 

The  early  Christian  Fathers,  "Clement  of  Alexandria, 
and  Origen,  understood  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  have  a 
spiritual  sense;  and  Origen,  when  the  shrewd  enemy  of 
Christianity,  Celsus,  ridiculed  the  stories  of  the  rib,  the 
serpent,  etc.,  us  childish  fables,  reproaches  him  for  want 
of  candor  in  purposely  keeping  out  of  sight,  what  was  so 
evident  upon  the  face  of  the  narrative,  that  the  whole  is 
a  pure  allegory.  Indeed  so  universal  was  this  sentiment, 
that  De  la  Bigue  in  his  Bibliotlicca  Patrum,  after  quoting 
a  number  of  testimonies  to  this  effect,  says:  Tor  these 


1£  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

reasons  the  interpreters  whom  we  have  mentioned,  under* 
standing  all  that  is  said  of  Paradise  in  a  spiritual  manner, 
affirmed  that  divers  heresies  had  arisen,  because  certain 
persons  had  understood  what  is  said  of  God  and  Paradise 
after  a  carnal  manner/  So  that  it  is  certain  that,  in  the 
primitive  days,  the  heretics  were  those  who  interpreted 
this  part  of  Scripture  according  to  the  letter" — Noble's 
Plenary  Inspiration. 

Aside  from  the  relation  of  what  he  saw  and  heard  in 
the  spiritual  world,  Swedenborg  assures  us  that  he  received 
from  the  Lord,  while  reading  His  Word,  the  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  in  accordance  with  the 
science  of  correspondences,  and  also  the  true  Christian 
doctrines — which  had  become  during  the  dark  ages  seri- 
ously perverted  by  the  evil  inclinations,  the  conflicting 
opinions  and  doctrines  of  men,  which  had  too  frequently 
made  the  Word  of  God  of  none  effect.  He  claims  that 
without  Divine  aid  he  could  never  have  discovered  the 
science  of  correspondences,  the  true  and  rational  interpre- 
tation of  the  Word  in  accordance  therewith,  and  the  true 
Christian  doctrines,  and  he  most  solemnly  assures  us  that 
he  received  nothing  of  all  he  has  revealed  to  us  upon  these 
subjects  from  any  spirit  or  angel  even,  but  from  the  Lord 
alone  while  reading  His  Word. 

Swedenborg  also  shows  us  that  the  Lord  has  never  left 
any  nation  or  people  without  some  knowledge  of  Himself 
and  of  His  will — enough,  if  they  will  but  hearken  and 
obey,  to  lead  to  some  of  the  innumerable  mansions  in  His 
heavenly  kingdom. 

Swedenborg  says  :  "That  religion  has  existed  from  the 
most  ancient  times,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe 
everywhere  know  of  God  with  something  about  the  life 
after  death,  has  not  been  from  themselves  and  from  their 
own  acuteness,  but  from  the  ancient  Word  mentioned 
above,  and  afterwards  from  the  Israeli tish  Word.  *  *  * 
It  is  well  known  that  they  had  a  knowledge  of  Paradise, 
of  the  flood,  of  the  sacred  fire,  and  of  the  four  ages — from 


HAVE  WE  ANY   SPECIAL  -  KEVELATICWS  ?  15 

the  first  or  golden  age  to  the  last  or  iron  age — by  which 
the  four  states  of  the  church  are  signified  in  the  Word,  us 
in  Daniel  ii.  35.  It  is  also  known  that  the  Mahometan 
religion  which  succeeded  and  destroyed  the  previous  re- 
ligions of  many  nations,  was  taken  from  the  Word  of  hoth 
Testaments."  "  They  who  do  not  believe  the  Word  from 
1  the  Word,  can  neither  believe  anything  divine  from  nature ; 
for  the  Lord  teaches,  they  have  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
let  them  hear  them ;  if  they  do  not  hear  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  if  any  of  the  dead 
were  to  rise  (Luke  xvi.  29-31).  It  is  the  same  if  any  one, 
rejecting  the  Word,  will  believe  from  nature  alone  what 
certain  of  the  ancients,  who  were  Pagans,  have  written, 
such  as  Aristotle,  Cicero,  and  others,  concerning  the  exist- 
ence of  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul  ;  this  they 
did  not  first  know  from  their  own  natural  light,  but  from 
the  religion  of  the  ancients,  among  whom  there  had  been 
a  divine  revelation,  which  was  successively  propagated  to 
the  heathens. " 

To  the  people  of  the  most  ancient  or  the  Adamic  age 
He  gave  open  vision  and  direct  revelations,  and  they 
understood  the  correspondence  between  spiritual  and 
natural  things ;  and  a  knowledge  of  correspondences  and 
essential  spiritual  truths,  after  men  began  to  sink  volun- 
tarily into  evil,  and  open  vision  ceased,  were  handed  down 
by  tradition  among  all  nations;  and  from  this  source  have 
originated  Mythology,  Idolatry,  Masonry  and  sacrifices  as 
the  latter  have  existed  among  Gentile  nations.  Objects  and 
images  once  used  t\>  remind  men  of  spiritual  truths,  the 
spiritual  signification  of  the  objects  arid  images  being 
gradually  lost,  men  came  at  length  to  worship  the  natural 
object  or  image,  or  to  use  the  same  in  sacrifices.  In  a 
more  or  less  perverted  form  the  Ten  Commandments  have 
been  handed  down  by  tradition  among  many  nations 
previous  to  their  ever  seeing  the  written  word,  and  some 
knowledge  of  spiritual  subjects  among  all  nations.  When 
our  missionaries  come  to  perceive  the  fact  and  act  accord- 


16  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

ingly,  that  heathen  nations  are  not  all  heathen  after  all, 
and  come  to  recognize  'the  truth  and  good  there  is  already 
among  them,  they  will  be  more  successful  in  converting 
them  to  Christianity. 

Through  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  the  Evangelists  and 
St.  John,  were  given  special  revelations  in  a  written  form, 
adapted  to  the  times  and  wants  of  the  men  for  whose  ben- 
efit they  were  given,  all  written  according  to  the  corres- 
pondence between  spiritual  and  natural  things;  every 
object,  image,  and  word  used  representing  spiritual  ideas, 
perceptions,  affections,  and  thoughts.  Swedenborg  claims 
to  have  given,  or  more  strictly  speaking,  that  the  Lord 
gave  through  him,  the  key  for  unlocking  all  these  various 
books  written  by  different  men  in  different  ages,  and  to 
demonstrate  to  man's  rational  perceptions  that  God  wa.3  in 
very  deed  their  author,  and  from  the  vast  store-houso  of 
God's  Word  he  brings  forth  things  new  and  old  for  the 
benefit  of  the  men  of  this  age.  Has  he  accomplished  all 
this  ?  If  he  has,  the  Lord  has  indeed  been  mindful  of  and 
merciful  to  the  men  of  this  age.  Swedenborg  asked  no 
man  to  receive  the  truth  on  his  say  so,  in  fact  he  expressly 
teaches  that  no  one  can  really  receive  the  truth  into  his 
life  any  further  than  he  perceives  it  to  be  true,  and  if  not 
brought  into  life  it  is  of  no  use,  and  soon  vanishes  from 
his  mental  vision,  even  if  ho  hears  it.  With  him  there  is 
no  salvation  by  truth  or  faith  alone,  for  all  genuine  re- 
ligion has  relation  to  life,  and  the  life  of  religion  is  to  do 
good.  But  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Ager  says  truly  and  justly: 

"  The  real  proof  of  the  existence  of  anything  is  to  see 
the  thing  itself.  As  soon  as  we  begin  to  see  tho  spiritual 
sonse  which  is  reflected  in  the  letter,  and  to  sec  the  bound- 
less vista  of  truth  which  it  opens,  and  especially  when  wo 
begin  to  feel  the  searching  and  discriminating  power  of 
this  higher  truth,  penetrating  to  the  most  hidden  motives 
and  springs  of  action,  we  need  no  argument  to  convince 
us  that  there  is  such  a  sense  in  the  Bible,  and  that  the 
Bible  is  Divine  and  Infinite  by  virtue  of  that  sense. 


HAVE   WE   AXY   SPECIAL   REVELATIONS?  17 

"Whether  there  be  such  a  sense,  therefore,  is  mainly  a 
question  of  fact.  You  cannot  tell  whether  it  is  there  or 
not  until  you  look  for  it. 

"The  system  of  interpretation  by  which  this  higher 
sen  so  is  unfolded  is  set  forth  in  the  writings  of  Ernanuel 
Swedcnborg.  It  is  not  an  arbitrary  system,  but  is  based 
upon  the  relation  which  everywhere  exists  between  the 
spiritual  and  the  natural ;  in  other  words,  it  is  based  upon 
an  ontological  law,  or  a  law  of  being.  What  this  law  is, 
and  how  it  is  manifested  in  all  nature  and  in  all  languages? 
cannot  be  explained  in  a  brief  space.  The  fundamental 
idea  of  it  is  this :  that  as  the  body  not  only  clothes  but 
rcvea7s  the  soul,  so  does  the  material  or  natural  universally 
both  clothe  and  reveal  the  spiritual.  The  body  reveals  the 
soul  becaus3  it  in  every  way  corresponds  to  it — is  the  type 
of  it.  This  is  true  not  only  of  its  form,  but  of  its  consti- 
tution and  the  laws  by  which  it  is  governed.  As  soon  as 
the  relation  between  the  spiritual  and  the  physical  is 
clearly  discerned,  the  study  of  the  body  becomes  the  most 
fruitful  source  of  information  respecting  the  soul. 

"  And  this  correspondenca  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
natural  is  universal.  The  natural  is  the  outcome  of  the 
spiritual,  and  therefore  reveals  it,  when  tho  language  in 
which  it  speaks  is  understood.  That  is,  the  natural  cor- 
responds to  the  spiritual,  and  to  the  extent  that  this  cor- 
respondence is  perceived  docs  the  spiritual  become  manifest 
in  and  through  the  natural. 

"The  various  bearings  and  applications  of  this  law  or 

'  relation  are  thoroughly  discussed  and  clearly  explained  by 

Swedenborg.     He  shows  that  this  is  the  law  of  Divine 

revelation  alike  in  the  works  of  God  and  in  the  Word  of 

God. 

"  Every  natural  object  is  the  form  and  embodiment  of 
some  spiritual  idea  or  principle ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  the 
most  perfect  expression  or  typo  or  picture  of  that  idea. 
This  higher  significance  of  nature  man  has  always  seen 
dimly  and  partially ;  and  the  recognition  of  this  corres- 


18  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

pondence  forms  the  basis  of  all  poetry.  But  the  Lord  sees 
this  higher  side  of  nature  in  all  its  infinite  fulness ;  hence 
in  Divine  language  this  correspondence  finds  full  and  per- 
fect expression.  And  it  is  in  accordance  with  this  law  that 
the  Divine  Truth  finds  its  ultimation,  in  human  language, 
in  the  Divine  Word. 

"When  we  apply  this  principle  of  interpretation  to  the 
Bible  we  find  how  completely  it  removes  all  the  difficulties 
which  have  been  the  occasion  of  so  much  doubt  and  skep- 
ticism. 

"  Take  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  for  instance,  which 
the  theologians  have  tried  in  vain  to  reconcile  with  the 
conclusions  of  modern  science.  AYhen  interpreted  by  this 
law,  it  is  seen  to  be,  not  an  erroneous  or  imperfect  account 
of  the  creation  of  the  natural  world,  but  a  typical  descrip- 
tion of  man's  spiritual  creation,  that  is,  of  his  spiritual 
development  from  the  state  of  spiritual  or  mental  chaos  to 
the  paradise  or  heavenly  state.  And  the  instruction  it 
contains  applies  equally  to  the  regeneration  or  develop- 
ment of  the  race,  and  to  the  regeneration  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

"  So  the  description  of  Eden  is  seen  to  be,  not  the  de- 
scription of  some  place  on  the  earth's  surface,  all  traces  of 
which  have  been  lost,  but  a  picture  of  the  heavenly  state 
of  mind  to  which  we  may  all  aspire.  Hence  it  is  full  of 
instruction  for  all  who  would  reach  that  state. 

"  So,  again,  the  account  of  the  'fall '  is  a  picture  of  what 
occurs  to  every  man  who  rejects  Divine  guidance,  and 
accepts  in  place  thereof  sensuous  knowledge,  which  is  the 
'serpent.'  This  sensuous  or  materialistic  spirit  is  just  as 
active  to-day  as  it  was  when  mankind  was  in  the  Eden 
state,  and  the  world  is  full  of  the  victims  of  its  seductions. 
And  when  our  eyes  are  opened  to  the  spiritual  lessons  of 
the  third  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  find  it  full  of  warning  and 
instruction  in  respect  to  the  present  state  of  the  world. 

"  Most  Christian  scholars  agree  that  true  history,  in  the 
Scriptures,  begins  with  Abraham,  and  that  the  preceding 


HAVE  WE   ANY   SPECIAL   REVELATIONS?  19 

chapters  are  compiled  from  ancient  documents.  This 
Swedenborg  declared  more  than  one  hundred  years'  ago, 
showing  this  first  part  of  Genesis  to  be  pure  parable,  with- 
out literal  historical  sense,  but  depicting  in  typical  lan- 
guage the  early  spiritual  history  of  *the  race,  its  develop- 
ment from  the  chaos  or  animal  state,  and  the  mental 
experiences  which  led  to  its  spiritual  decline.  The  num- 
bers mentioned  in  these  chapters  are  also  symbolical; 
hence  we  have  no  chronology  of  this  period. 

"  It  will  be  seen,  not  only  that  this  recognition  of  a 
spiritual  sense  in  the  Divine  Word  opens  to  our  view 
limitless  treasures  of  spiritual  instruction  therein,  but  also 
that  it  lifts  the  Bible  out  of  the  arena  of  scientific  contro- 
versy. Science  and  Revelation  have  each  its  province,  and 
the  two  need  not  conflict.  It  is  the  province  of  Science  to 
investigate  truth  relating  to  our  physical  nature,  and  the 
material  world  which  is  its  home.  It  is  the  province  of 
Eevelation  to  teach  truth  respecting  our  spiritual  nature, 
and  the  spiritual  world  which  is  its  home.  Or,  as  is  often 
said,  it  is  the  province  of  Science  to  deal  with  effects,  and 
of  Eevelation  to  deal  with  causes;  for  the  physical  world  is 
the  world  of  effects,  and  the  spiritual  world,  that  of  causes. 

"But  it  is  also  true  that  while  the  two  are  distinct, 
neither  can  be  rightly  comprehended  without  the  other. 
A  true  conception  of  Christianity— that  is,  of  religion — is 
now  possible,  because  true  science  is  now  beginning  to  be 
discovered  and  accepted.  The  foundation  is  being  laid 
upon  which  the  superstructure  can  rest.  A  false  or  im- 
perfect science  and  a  false  or  imperfect  religion  have 
always  gone  hand  in  hand.  Man  rises  from  sensuous 
thought  to  spiritual  thought,  and  if  his  sensuous  thought 
be  wrong,  his  spiritual  thought  must  needs  be  erroneous 
or  imperfect. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  stops  in  the  sensuous 
plane  of  thought,  he  sees  but  one  side  of  the  truth,  and 
that  the  lower ;  and  to  accept  that  as  complete,  is  to  falsify 
all  his  conceptions/' 


20  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

Thanks  be  to  the  Lord  for  the  revelations  made  through 
Swedenborg ;  from  this  time  forth  the  sacred  Scriptures 
will  be  reverenced  as  they  have  never  been  before  since  the 
age  of  Noah,  for  in  the  hghfc  of  this  newly-revealed  science 
of  correspondences  they  are  taken  out  of  the  regions  of 
theory  and  speculation,  and  placed  in  that  of  absolute 
knowledge ;  their  Divine  origin  by  those  who  have  a 
reasonable  knowledge  of  correspondences  will  no  more  be 
questioned  than  the  existence  of  the  French,  German  or 
Italian  language  by  those  who  have  patiently  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  the  key  or  grammar  and  dictionary  of  such, 
language.  The  Word  then  becomes  holy,  for  it  is  seen  to 
be  from  God,  who  is  shown  therein  in  very  deed  to  be  our 
Father — who,  from  His  great  parental  love  for  His  chil- 
dren, has  revealed  to  us  in  it  the  spiritual  history  of  our 
race  and  the  laws  of  spiritual  life,  in  accordance  with 
which  we  must  live  if  we  would  have  heaven  within  us, 
and  consequently  reach  a  state  of  happiness  and  heaven 
hereafter. 

"We  are  satisfied,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "that  could 
many  of  the  heartiest  opponents  of  such  a  view  of  the  Word 
of  God  perceive  that  there  is  such  a  rule  and  such  a  key, — 
that,  unlocked  by  this  consistent  key,  the  darkest  places  of 
Scripture  are  opened  to  the  light,  with  results  not  only 
not  trivia],  but  of  high  importance  to  the  spiritual  pro- 
gress of  man, — they  would  gladly  receive  what  would  so 
entirely  vindicate  the  divinity  of  the  Scriptures  and  at  the 
same  time  thoroughly  sweep  away  the  basis  of  all  infidel 
objections.  It  would  neither  impugn  the  correctness  nor 
depreciate  the  value  of  the  literal  sense.  Every  fact  and 
every  principle  which  they  now  learn  they  could  still  re- 
vere, as  we  do.  But,  added  to  this,  they  would  find  the 
Word  filled  with  a  grander  significance,  and  derive  from  it 
fuller  instruction." 


THE   FIKST   CHAPTERS   or   viEXESIS.  21 

IV. 

The  First  Chapters  of  Genesis. 


chapters,  as  is  well  known,  have  given  rise  to 
a  serious  controversy  between  scientific  men  and 
theologians.  Believing  that  both  parties  have  been  in 
error,  and  contending  against  each  other  when  there  is  no 
occasion  or  real  ground  for  such  controversy,  we  propose 
to  consider  them  briefly  in  the  light  of  the  revelations 
made  through  Swedenborg.  But  before  doing  this,  we 
desire  to  say  that  these  chapters  belong  to  the  revealed 
Word  of  God,  had  Him  for  their  author,  and  consequently 
contain  divine  truths  adapted  to  the  wants  and  under- 
standings of  the  men  for  whom  they  were  written,  long 
before  the  days  of  Moses,  and  copied  by  him.  It  matters 
uttle  by  what  man's  hand  they  were  first  penned,  the  sim- 
ple question  is,  Have  they  a  connected  spiritual  sense?  if 
so  they  have  the  Divine  imprint,  and  their  authorship  is 
placed  beyond  question.  These  chapters  contain  the  early 
spiritual  history  of  the  golden  age  and  of  our  race,  and 
they  were  copied  by  Moses  more  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
this  and  coming  ages,  when,  in  the  good  providence  of  the 
Lord,  a  knowledge  of  correspondences  has  been  restored 
to  men.  We  make  this  statement  at  the  commencement 
as  to  the  sacred  character  of  the  contents  of  these  chapters, 
for  we  should  be  exceedingly  sorry  to  lessen,  by  any  thing 
we  may  write,  any  man's  reverence  for  a  single  moment 
for  the  Word  of  God,  of  which  we  know  these  chapters  to 
be  a  part. 

It  would  seem  that,  unaided  by  further  revelation,  an 
intelligent  man,  if  he  could  divest  himself  of  the  prejudices 
and  preconceived  ideas  derived  from  education  (a  very 
difficult  thing  to  do),  on  carefully  reading  these  chapters 
in  Genesis,  might  ask  both  the  scientist  and  the  theologian 
a  few  practical  questions,  which  would  be  worthy  of  their 
berious  consideration. 


22  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIYIXH   REVELATION. 

To  the  scientist  he  might  say:  "Yon  assume  that  there 
is  no  other  earth  but  the  material  earth  and  no  other  crear 
tion  but  the  material  creation,  and  because  you  have  found 
by  your  investigations  into  the  works  of  creation,  espe 
cially  in  your  geological  researches,  that  the  earth  was  not 
created  in  six  days,  and  the  order  of  creation  was  not  such 
as  the  order  described  in  Genesis,  you  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  this  portion  of  the  Bible,  as  applied  to  the 
creation  of  the  material  universe,  is  not  true,  and  conse- 
quently your  faith  in  the  entire  volume  as  containing 
divine  revelations,  is  impaired  if  not  destroyed  ;  but  have 
you  never  heard  of  a  mental  earth,  an  earth  which  can 
hear,  fear,  be  joyful,  mourn,  be  corrupt,  and  be  judged  ? 
If  you  have  not,  you  will  not  have  to  read  the  sacred 
Scriptures  long  before  you  will  find  that,  whether  they 
ever  treat  of  the  material  earth  or  not,  they  certainly  do  of 
a  mental  or  spiritual  earth;  for  you  will  read,  even  in 
Genesis :  "  The  earth  also  was  corrupt  before  God/'  Surely 
the  material  earth  was  not  corrupt;  and  elsewhere  you 
will  read,  "  Hear,  0  earth,  the  words  of  my  mouth  ;"  "  Let 
earth  hear;"  "Hear,  0  earth,  I  will  bring  evil  on  this 
people  ;"  "  The  earth  feared  ;"  "  The  earth  mourneth  and 
fadeth  away ;"  "  Let  the  earth  rejoice ;"  "  Sing,  0  heavens, 
and  be  joyful,  0  earth;"  "The  earth  is  full  of  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord;"  "  The  earth  rhall  be  full  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord ;"  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  al] 
the  ends  of  the  earth;"  "The  earth  is  utterly  broken 
down,  the  earth  is  dissolved;"  "The  earth  and  all  the  in- 
habitants thereof  are  dissolved;"  "He  uttered  His  voice, 
the  earth  melted;"  "Arise,  0  God,  judge  the  earth." 
Surely  you  can  but  perceive  that  it  was  not  the  material 
earth  which  was  meant  in  the  above  and  a  multitude  of 
other  passages  you  will  find.  You  scout  the  idea  that  the 
days  of  creation  in  Genesis  were  vast  indefinite  periods  of 
time  and  not  literal  days,  as  the  language  certainly  im- 
plies if  we  take  the  narrative  literally,  and  I  do  not  see 
how  any  sensible  man,  untrammeled  by  preconceived  ideas, 


THE   ElKST   CHAPTERS    OF    GEKESIS.  23 

can  differ  from  you  in  this  respect ;  but  having  satisfied 
yourself  that  this  narrative  is  not  a  correct  literal  history 
of  the  creation  of  the  material  universe,  and  especially  of 
our  earth,  do  you  see  nothing  in  it  worthy  of  your  careful 
consideration  ?  Its  very  existence,  coming  down  as  it 
does  from  time  immemorial,  must  be  as  much  of  a  mystery 
to  you  as  any  you  can  find  in  the  material  universe,  if  you 
ignore  its  divine  origin.  Professing  to  be  a  Divine  reve- 
lation, it  certainly  is  written  in  an  orderly  and  systematic 
manner,  and  is  a  beautiful  history,  and  I  think  you  will 
admit  that  it  did  not  come,  or  was  not  written,  by  chance 
or  by  an  impersonal  being.  The  writer  certainly  was  an 
intelligent  being  undoubtedly  in  the  form  of  man,  and  it 
is  evident  he,  or  the  being  who  wrote  through  him,  had 
a  design,  which  was  to  convey  useful  and  practical  infor^ 
mation  for  men.  There  certainly  is  -too  great  a  manife^ 
tation  of  intelligence  for  us  to  suppose  that  the  author  t*i 
these  chapters  either  did  not  know  what  he  was  writing 
about,  or  did  not  understand  his  subject.  What  object 
could  he  have  had,  if  it  is  to  be  understood  literally? 
To  the  theologian  he  would  say:  4^Why  do  you  assume 
that  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis  treat  of  the  creation  of 
the  material  earth  and  the  first  physical  men  on  it  r  Is  there 
not  enough  in  the  very  language  itself  to  show  unmistak- 
ably that  it  was  never  intended  by  the  writer  as  a  history 
of  the  material  creation — in  fact,  could  not  in  the  very 
nature  of  things  have  been  so  intended?  Look  at  it  pa- 
tiently for  a  moment.  A  material  earth  without  form  and 
void,  or  empty.  Could  matter  possibly  be  without  form 
and  void?"  "And  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the 
deep — abyss."  If  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void, 
adhere  could  there  have  been  a  deep  or  abyss?  Literally,  as 
the  narrative  reads,  there  was  light,  day  and  night,  on 
earth  before  the  creation  of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  and 
vegetation  appeared  on  earth  before  the  sun  was  created. 
The  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  not  created  until  the  fourth 
day,  and  then  apparently  simply  to  give  light  and  heat  to 


24  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    KEVELATIGN. 

the  earth.  No  wonder  that  the  astronomer,  viewing  the 
heavens  with  nis  telescope,  the  geologist  carefully  examin- 
ing the  record  in  the  strata  of  the  earth,  reading  their 
wonderful  revelations  of  a  vast  past  history  for  the  earth, 
and  the  photographer  analyzing  the  light  of  the  sun, 
showing  almost  beyond  question  that  the  sun  is  the  phys- 
ical parent  of  the  earth — no  wonder,  I  say,  that  they,  in 
the  light  of  recent  discoveries,  cannot  accept  the  record  in 
Genesis  as  a  correct  history  of  the  creation  of  the  material 
universe,  and  especially  when,  according  to  theologists,  the 
creation  was  crowded  into  six  days,  and  occurred  only 
about  6000  years  ago.  If  you  abandon  the  literal  days 
you  give  up  the  whole  as  a  literal  narrative ;  for  if  the  days 
so  carefully  described  were  not  literal  days,  what  right 
have  you  to  assume  that  any  part  of  the  record  was  literally 
true,  as  to  the  material  creation  ?  But  taking  the  record 
as  a  history  of  the  material  creation,  your  difficulties  have 
but  fairly  commenced  with  the  first  chapter ;  but  I  shall 
only  hastily  call  your  attention  to  a  few  of  them,  such  as 
the  garden  eastward  in  Eden.  The  tree  of  life  also  in  the 
midst  of  the  garden,  and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  were  these  literal  trees  ?  do  not  their  very  .names 
show  that  they  were  not,  but  that  they  were  mental  or 
spiritual  trees?  Nothing  would  seem  to  be  more  absurd, 
surely,  than  in  the  very  face  of  their  significative  names  to 
assume  that  they  were  literal  trees,  unless  it  may  be  to  sup- 
pose that  woman  was  made  from  a  literal  rib  taken  from 
man.  Now,  is  it  true  that  the  serpent  is  more  subtle  than 
any  beast  of  the  field,  and  that  he  can  talk,  or  that  he  eats 
dust  ?  What  reason  have  you  to  suppose  he  ever  talked  or 
could  reason  ?  After  Adam  and  Eve  had  eaten  of  the  for- 
bidden fruit  their  eyes  were  opened  ;  what  does  this  mean  ? 
had  they  not  their  eyes  open  before  this?  and  did  they  not 
know  that  they  were  naked  before  this  event  ?  Then  we 
read,  "The  Lord  God  made  coats  of  skins  and  clothed  them." 
Now,  I  ask  you  in  all  sincerity,  if  it  is  possible  to  regard 
the  passages  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  a  large  number 


THE  FIRST   CHAPTEES  UJT  GENESIS.  25 

more,  as  a  part  of  a  literal  history  of  the  natural  creation, 
or  to  suppose  for  a  moment,  on  a  careful  and  unbiased 
reading,  that  they  were  ever  intended  as  such  by  their 
author?" 

In  the  revelations  made  by  the  Lord  through  Emanuel 
Fwedenborg,  we  are  clearly  shown  that  the  Word  of  the 
Lord  was  not  given  to  teach  man  natural  sciences,  or  a 
history  of  the  material  creation,  for  such  knowledge,  by 
patient  research,  is  already  within  man's  reach,  and  he  will 
be  benefited  by  his  investigation;  but  Divine  Eevelation 
has  a  higher  and  nobler  use  to  perform;  in  other  words, 
by  it  the  Lord  our  Creator  reveals  to  man  a  knowledge  of 
Himself  and  of  spiritual  truths,  which  man,  unaided,  by 
searching  could  never  find  out,  for  they  are  entirely  above 
the  reach  of  the  natural  man.  Man  cannot  build  a  tower, 
by  his  self-derived  intelligence,  which  will  reach  to  heaven, 
and  thus  scale  its  walls  and  obtain  heavenly  wisdom  and 
goodness.  If  he  would  reach  heaven  or  heavenly  knowl- 
edge, he  must  ascend  by  the  ladder  let  down  from  heaven, 
or  by  living  a  life  according  to  the  truths  revealed  by  the 
Lord  through  or  from  heaven  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  to 
guide  him.  All  genuine  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  of 
spiritual  truths  possessed  by  man  has  been  revealed  to  man 
by  the  Lord,  and  handed  down  either  in  a  written  form  or 
by  tradition ;  but  in  the  latter  case,  often  more  or  less  per- 
verted. 

The  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  according  to  Swedenborg, 
are  a  pure  Allegory,  written  according  to  the  correspond- 
ence between  natural  and  spiritual  things.  They  contain 
a  spiritual  history  of  the  most  ancient  church,  denom- 
inated Adam,  and  of  the  ancient  church  d^nojninated 
Noah,  which  was  established  after  the  fall  of  mankind,  and 
after  our  race  became  overwhelmed  by  a  flood  of  falses  and 
evils.  It  is  not  of  the  physical  creation  that  they  treat, 
but  of  the  spiritual  creation  or  regeneration  of  men,  and 
even  of  the  regeneration  of  the  men  of  our  day,  for  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  is  applicable  to  all  men  uf  all  times. 
2 


26  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

The  most  beautiful  and  important  lessons  of  spiritual 
truth  are  contained  in  these  chapters  for  our  use;  com- 
pared with  which,  natural  sciences  and  the  physical  history 
of  our  earth  sink  into  insignificance. 

In  what  follows,  we  propose  to  give  the  reader  simply  a 
glimpse  of  the  contents,  or  spiritual  sense  of  these  chap- 
ters. To  do  justice  to  them,  or  to  fully  illustrate  tiie 
meaning  and  show  its  correctness  by  quotations  from  other 
portions  of  the  sacred  Scriptures— for  all  parts  of  the  Word 
must  be  interpreted  or  explained  in  harmony  with  every 
other  part,  the  Word  being  practically  its  own  interpreter 
— would  require  a  volume.  Such  a  volume  has  already 
been  written  by  a  man  specially  prepared  and  illuminated 
by  the  Lord  for  the  purpose.  In  the  first  volume  of  Swe- 
dcnborg's  Arcana  Ccelestia,  containing  568  pages,  the 
reader  will  find  an  explanation  of  the  first  eleven  chapters 
of  Genesis  which  will  satisfy  his  highest  reason.  We  are 
authorized  to  say  that  this  volume  will  be  sent,  postage  paid, 
to  any  one  who  may  desire  it,  on  the  receipt  of  seventy- 
eight  cents  by  the  American  Swedenborg  Printing  and 
Publishing  Society,  20  Cooper  Union,  New  York  City. 
The  regular  price,  until  recently,  has  been  one  doUar  and 
fifty  cents,  or  nearly  double  the  present  price. 

V. 

Genesis,  Chapter  First,  and  Creation. 

IN  his  preface  or  introduction  to  this  chapter  Sweden* 
borg  says : 

"1.  That  the  Word  of  the  Old  Testament  includes 
arcana  of  heaven,  and  that  all  its  contents,  to  every  par- 
ticular, regard  the  Lord,  his  heaven,  the  church,  faith,  and 
the  things  relating  to  faith,  no  man  can  conceive  who  only 
views  it  from  the  letter.  For  the  letter,  or  literal  sense, 
suggest  only  such  things  as  respect  the  externals  of  the 
Jewish  church  ;  when,  nevertheless,  it  everywhere  contains 
internal  things,  which  do  not  in  the  least  appear  in  those 


FIRST   CHAPTER   OF   GENESIS.  27 

externals,  except  in  a  very  few  cases,  where  the  Lord 
revealed  and  unfolded  them  to  the  apostles — as  that  sacri- 
fices are  significative  of  the  Lord — and  that  the  land  of 
Canaan  and  Jerusalem  are  significative  of  heaven,  on 
which  account  they  are  called  the  heavenly  Canaan  and 
Jerusalem — and  that  Paradise  has  a  like  signification. 

"  2.  But  that  all  and  every  part  of  its  contents,  even  to 
the  most  minute,  not  excepting  the  smallest  jot  and  tittle, 
signify  and  involve  spiritual  and  celestial  things,  is  a  truth 
to  this  day  deeply  hidden  from  the  Christian  world;  in 
consequence  of  which  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  Old 
Testament,  This  truth,  however,  might  appear  plainly 
from  this  single  circumstance :  that  the  Word  being  of  the 
Lord,  and  from  the  Lord,  could  not  possibly  be  given 
without  containing  interiorly  such  things  as  relate  to 
heaven,  to  the  church,  and  to  faith.  For  if  this  be  denied, 
how  can  it  be  called  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  or  be  said  to 
have  any  life  in  it  ?  For  whence  is  its  life,  but  from  those 
things  which  possess  life  ?  that  is,  except  from  hence,  that 
all  things  in  it,  both  generally  and  particularly,  have  rela- 
tion to  the  Lord,  who  is  the  very  Life  Itself.  Wherefore 
whatsoever  does  not  interiorly  regard  Him,  does  not  live ; 
nay,  whatsoever  expression  in  the  Word  does  not  involve 
Him,  or  in  its  measure  relate  to  Him,  is  not  divine. 

"3.  Without  such  a  living  principle,  the  Word,  as  to 
the  letter,  is  dead.  For  it  is  with  the  Word  as  it  is  with 
man,  who,  as  all  Christians  are  taught  to  believe,  consists 
of  two  parts,  an  external  and  an  internal.  The  external 
man,  separate  from  the  internal,  is  the  body,  which,  in  such 
a  state  of  separation,  is  dead ;  but  the  internal  is  that 
which  lives  and  causes  the  external  to  live.  The  internal 
man  is  the  soul ;  and  thus  the  Word  as  to  the  letter  alone, 
is  like  a  body  without  a  soul. 

"4.  It  is  impossible,  whilst  the  mind  abides  in  the  literal 
sense  only,  to  see  that  it  is  full  of  such  spiritual  contents. 
Thus,  in  these  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  nothing  is  dis- 
coverable from  the  literal  sense,  but  that  they  treat  of  the 


28  SKEPTICISM    AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

creation  of  the  world,  and  of  the  garden  of  Eden  which  is 
called  Paradise,  and  also  of  Adam  as  the  first  created  man ; 
and  scarcely  a  single  person  supposes  them  to  relate  to 
anything  besides.  But  that  they  contain  arcana  which 
were  never  heretofore  revealed,  will  sufficiently  appear  from 
the  following  pages;  wh^re  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  in  its  internal  sense,  treats  of  the  NEW 
CREATION  of  man,  or  of  his  Kegeneration  in  general,  and 
specifically  of  the  most  ancient  church ;  and  this  in  such  a 
manner,  that  ther^  is  not  a  single  syllable  which  does  not 
represent,  signify,  and  involve  something  spiritual. 

"  5.  That  this  is  really  the  case,  in  respect  to  the  Word,  it 
is  impossible  for  any  mortal  to  know,  however,  except  from 
the  Lord.  Wherefore  it  is  expedient  here  to  premise,  that, 
of  the  Lord's  divine  mercy,  it  has  been  granted,  now  for 
several  years,  to  be  constantly  and  uninterruptedly  in 
company  with  spirits  and  angels,  hearing  them  converse 
with  each  other,  and  conversing  with  them.  Hence  it  has 
been  permitted  me  to  hear  and  see  things  in  another  life 
which  are  astonishing,  and  which  have  never  before  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  any  man,  nor  entered  into  his  imagi- 
nation. I  have  there  been  instructed  concerning  different 
kinds  of  spirits,  and  the  state  of  souls  after  death — con- 
cerning hell,  or  the  lamentable  state  of  the  unfaithful — 
concerning  heaven,  or  the  most  happy  state  of  the  faith- 
ful— particularly  concerning  the  doctrine  of  faith  which  is 
acknowledged  throughout  all  heaven:  on  which  subjects, 
by  the  divine  mercy  of  the  Lord,  more  will  be  said  in  the 
following  pages." 


EXPOSITION   OF  THE   INTERNAL   SENSE.  37 

The  greatest  part,  at  this  day,  only  attain  the  first  state ; 
some  only  to  the  second;  others  only  to  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth;  few  to  the  sixth;  and  scarcely  any  to  the 
seventh." 

VII. 
The  Creation  of  Man  and  "Woman. 

(AS  DESCRIBED   IN  THE  FIRST  CHAPTER  OF  GENESIS,  AND  AS 
DESCRIBED   IN   THE   SECOND.) 

"And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;  and  man  became  a  liv- 
ing soul." — GEN.  ii.  7. 

"  ~TN  considering  the  Divine  wisdom  contained  in  the 
JL  first  two  chapters  of  Genesis,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bay- 
ley,  "there  are  two  particulars  which  are  somewhat 
striking  in  themselves,  and  have  served  to  confirm  theories 
entirely  incompatible  with  the  authority  of  this  portion  of 
the  Divine  Word  as  a  revelation  from  Infinite  Wisdom. 
The  first  is,  that  notwithstanding  in  the  preceding  chapter 
it  is  said,  that  '  God  made  man,  male  and  female,  on  the 
sixth  day,  yet  in  the  present  chapter  (ver.  5)  it  is  said,  after 
the  seventh  day,  'there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground.' 
No  ingenuity  can  make  it  probable  that  all  the  proceed- 
ings related  to  have  taken  place,  from  the  creation  of  Adam 
to  the  formation  of  Eve  from  his  rib  during  his  sleep, 
could  be  the  work  of  one  day  only.  He  is  said  to  have 
named  all  the  animals  in  the  time,  and  to  have  discovered 
that  it  was  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone.  Can  it  be  sup- 
posed that  all  which  is  implied  in  these  operations  could 
be  the  work  of  twelve,  or  even  twenty-four  hours  ?  Im- 
possible. We  must  seek  for  a  higher  reason;  and  happily 
this  is  afforded.  In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  the  regen- 
eration of  man  is  the  theme,  up  to  that  state  in  which 
truth  becomes  his  only  law  and  guide.  He  is  then  a  true 
man,  and  a  free  man,  in  the  image  of  his  God.  His 
religion  is  not  constrained  now,  as  it  is  in  all  the  states 


38  SHEPIICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION*. 

meant  by  the  days  preceding  the  sixth.  Hence,  at  the 
conclusion  of  that  day,  all  things  are  pronounced  by  the 
Divine  Being  to  be  very  good.  Man  is  in  that  state  a  truly 
spiritual  man ;  he  conquers  in  every  trial  to  which  he  is 
subjected.  But  there  is  a  state  better  still:  it  is  that  in 
which  LOVE  is  the  supreme  law — in  which  man  is  more 
than  conqueror:  he  is  no  longer  the  subject  of  temptation. 
There  is  no  labor  in  this  state;  all  is  rest,  not  the  rest  of 
inactivity,  but  a  rest  from  struggle — a  state  of  interior 
peace — a  sabbath  of  the  soul.  This  is  truly  a  celestial 
state!  The  former  chapter  traced  man's  mental  creation, — 
his  spiritual  progress,  up  to  the  stage  of  his  becoming  fully 
spiritual ;  but  this  chapter  is  taking  the  description  for- 
ward until  he  becomes  celestial.  Up  to  the  period  de- 
scribed in  this  verse  there  was  no  man  to  till  THIS  ground, 
— to  cultivate  the  celestial  state. 

"  We  shall,  perhaps,  be  able  to  see  the  interesting  sub- 
jects of  thought  to  which  the  spiritual  sense  here  invites 
us  more  clearly,  if  we  notice  three  remarkable  features  of 
distinction  between  the  first  chapter  and  the  second,  both 
of  them  apparently  treating  of  the  origin  of  things,  and  of 
man.  In  the  first  chapter  water  occupies  the  leading 
place;  in  the  second  chapter  ground  is  the  most  important. 
God  broods  over  the  face  of  the  water  on  the  first  day ;  he 
divides  between  the  waters  on  the  second ;  he  distinguishes 
between  land  and  water  on  the  third ;  He  made  fishes  and 
fowls  from  the  water  on  the  fifth  day.  This  will  readily 
be  understood  and  its  bearing  be  seen  by  the  spiritually- 
minded  student,  who  knows  that  water,  in  its  varied 
forms,  is  the  symbol  of  fcruth — that  living,  purifying  power 
which  is  called  the  water  of  life  (Eev.  xxi.  1 ;  John  iv.  10, 
14).  Water  in  the  sea  is  representative  of  truth  in  the 
memory;  general,  external,  undiscriminated,  capable  of 
being  tossed  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine.  Water,  as 
gentle  rain,  is  representative  of  truth  as  it  descends  from 
the  intelligent  mind  of  a  loving  teacher,  or  from  the  Lord 
the  Divine  Teacher;  hence  Moses  said,  'My  doctrine  shall 


THE   CREATION   OF   MAN   AND   WOMAN.  39 

drop  as  the  rain,  my  speech  shall  distil  as  the  dew,  as  the 
rain  upoii  the  tender  herb,  as  the  showers  upon  the  grass ' 
(Deut.  xxxii.  2).  Water,  as  a  river,  is  representative  of 
truth  when  it  has  become  elevated  to  the  inmost  affections 
of  the  soul,  and  thence  flows  down  again  into  the  whole 
mind  and  life,  purifying,  directing,  fructifying,  and  bless- 
ing the  whole  man.  This  is  the  river  of  God,  which  is 
full  of  waters  (Ps.  Ixv.  9  ;  xlvi.  4).  In  the  second  chapter, 
the  only  water  mentioned  is  the  river  which  flowed  out  of 
Eden,  and  which  was  divided  into  four  heads:  a  river 
which  has  never  been  found  on  earth.  It  is  a  symbol  of 
truth  flowing  from  the  heart,  when  man  is  in  a  celestial 
state. 

"  In  the  second  chapter,  ground  has  the  leading  position. 
Mist  comes  upon  the  whole  face  of  the  ground ;  man  is 
made  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  ;  out  of  the  ground  grow 
all  trees  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for  food,  the  tree 
of  lives  and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil; 
out  of  the  ground  fowls  are  formed  (ver.  19),  though  in 
the  first  chapter  they  are  said  to  be  formed  from  the  water 
(ver.  20).  Ground  is  the  symbol  of  goodness;  for  this  is 
the  ground  into  which  the  seeds  of  truth  should  be  re- 
ceived. The  good  ground  is  an  honest  and  good  heart, 
said  the  Lord  Jesus  (Luke  viii.  15).  Those  States  are 
properly  spiritual,  in  which  the  spirit  of  truth  is  the  prin- 
ciple from  which  man  acts  as  the  guiding  rule  of  his  life. 
Those  states  are  properly  celestial,  in  which  love  or  good- 
ness is  the  leading  characteristic.  When  a  man  is  in 
spiritual  states,  he  is  rigidly  right,  aims  at  constant  cor- 
rectness in  the  path  of  duty,  is  perhaps  brilliant,  and  de- 
lights in  pursuing  the  truth,  but  is  comparatively  cold. 
When  a  man  is  in  the  celestial  state,  he  is  gentle,  loving, 
kind,  merciful,  easily  entreated,  long-suffering,  ever  re- 
gards goodness  as  the  chief  object  of  his  care,  and  is  in  all 
his  religious  duties,  warm.  The  spiritual  man  regards  the 
water  of  heaven,  or  truth  mainly;  the  celestial  man,  the 
ground  of  heaven,  or  goodness  mainly  Hence  the  first 


40  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

feature  of  distinction  which  the  discriminating  mind  will 
notice  between  the  two  chapters. 

"The  next  distinctive  feature  between  them  is  in  the 
different  name  employed  to  express  the  Deity.  In  the  first 
chapter  everything  is  done  by  God,  Elohim ;  in  the  second, 
by  the  Lord  God,  Jehovah  Elohim.  This  circumstance 
has  led  some  to  conjecture  that  the  two  are  merely  separate 
traditions  of  the  creation  collated  by  Moses,  and  giving 
only  the  speculations  of  the  writers  respecting  the  origin 
of  men  and  of  all  things.  But  this  idea,  in  order  to  ex- 
plain the  difficulty  of  finding  the  Creator  designated  by 
different  names,  leads  us  to  the  unspeakably  greater  dif- 
ficulty of  a  denial  of  revelation.  For,  if  we  deny  this  por- 
tion of  the  Divine  Word  to  be  anything  more  than  un- 
authorized traditions  of  unknown  writers,  we  by  implica- 
tion deny  the  whole  Bible  to  be  a  Divine  revelation,  for 
the  whole  proceeds  upon  the  basis  of  this  early  part  being 
divinely  true.  And  what  a  result  is  this !  To  think  that 
our  heavenly  Father  has  left  His  immortal  children  with- 
out a  guide  !  that  He  who  provides  bounteously  its  food 
for  the  humblest  insect  has  left  man's  spiritual  demands 
unsatisfied !  Oh,  no !  we  cannot  admit  so  terrible  a  result. 
Man,  already  an  angel  in  embryo,  asks  for  angels'  food, 
and  He  who  has  provided  for  all  his  other  wants  must  have 
provided  for  this.  '  Man  lives  not  by  hread  alone,  but  by 
every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God/ 
'  Blessed  are  they  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness, for  they  shall  be  filled/  That  which  seems  an  imper- 
fection in  the  divine  revelation  only  appears  so,  because 
the  spiritual  character  of  that  revelation  is  not  seen.  '  The 
law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul'  (Ps.  xix.) ; 
and  when  its  application  to  the  soul  is  seen,  its  divine 
beauty  and  excellence  at  once  are  made  manifest. 

"  But  when  we  ascertain  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  names 
God  and  Lord,  we  shall  find  that  their  diversity  is  an  ex- 
ample of  the  divine  excellence  and  perfection  of  the  Holy 
Word,  as  well  as  an  illustration  of  the  truth  of  our  prin- 


THE   CKEATION   OF   MAN   AND   WOMAN.  41 

ciple  of  unfolding  it.  The  appellation  God  (Elohim,  or 
powers)  is  expressive  of  the  divine  truths,  which  manifest 
the  powers  of  God,  and  which,  under  the  name  of  the 
divine  laws,  really  effect  all  which  God  does  in  the  entire 
universe.  The  appellation  Jehovah  (he  who  is)  designates 
the  inmost  existence  of  Deity,  the  Divine  Love.  God  is 
love.  The  two  grand  essentials  of  Deity,  Infinite  Love,  the 
source  of  all  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  and  Infinite  Wis- 
dom, the  source  of  all  the  truth  from  the  Lord,  are  con- 
stantly referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  discriminated 
from  each  other  by  these  two  names  Jehovah,  or  Lord,  and 
God.  '  I  will  call  upon  God,  and  the  Lord  shall  save  me/ 
means  that  we  appeal  to  the  Divine  Truth,  but  Divine 
Love  really  saves  us.  '  Yet  I  will  rejoice  in  Jehovah,  I 
will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation/  directs  our  attention 
to  both  divine  principles  as  sources  of  interior  joy.  By 
noticing  the  usa  of  these  two  appellations,  and  bearing  the 
signification  in  mi^d,  a  beauty  and  force  will  be  found  in 
the  Holy  Word  which  was  before  unsuspected,  but  which 
is  eminently  interesting  and  important. 

"  While  man  is  in  the  spiritual  states  of  bis  regenera- 
tion, truth  is  the  spring  of  his  conduct — his  guiding  star, 
his  impelling  power.  He  follows  it,  he  bows  to  it ;  it  rules 
him,  fights  for  him,  recreates  and  renews  him.  Hence 
God  does  all  for  him  in  these  states.  Although  Divine 
Love  is  really  within  tLe  Divine  Truth  at  all  times,  man 
is  not  consciously  aware  of  this. 

"When,  however,  man  has  entered  into  a  celestial  state, 
and,  in  all  he  does,  goodness  has  the  lead,  a  great  change 
is  gradually  effected  in  i\is  mode  of  thinking.  He  does 
not  value  truth  less,  but  he  esteems  Christian  love  and 
goodness  more.  He  is  no  longer  prone  to  dispute  about 
truth,  but  is  only  careful  to  practise  it.  The  law  is  writ- 
ten upon  his  heart;  it  is  nt>  longer  the  object  of  reasoning. 
He  sees  it  by  light  from  \miiin  ;  he  says,  Yea,  yea,  to  what 
he  inwardly  perceives  to  bb  right,  or  Nay,  nay,  to  the  re- 
verse He  is  now  at  peaeb,  and  has  but  to  cultivate  and 


42  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

preserve  the  virtues  Divine  Love  and  Wisdom  have  un- 
folded within  him.  He  is  in  Eden,  and  has  only  to  dress 
and  to  keep  it.  In  all  the  divine  dealings  with  him  now 
he  sees  the  Divine  Love  as  manifest  as  the  Divine  Wisdom. 
He  discerns  not  only  the  right  of  Providence  in  all  things, 
but  its  mercy.  It  is  no  longer  God  only,  but  Jehovah 
God,  who  leads  him.  It  is  the  Deity  as  his  Father  that 
he  rejoices  to  hear.  He  feels  his  LOVE  around  him,  and 
within  him,  and  he  is  happy.  He  lives  in  his  Father's 
house;  his  Father's  commands  are  no  hard  laws  to  him, 
but  delightful  directions.  He  loves  the  law,  and  has  great 
peace  (Ps.  cxix.  165).  This,  therefore,  is  the  sufficient 
reason  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  being  Jehovah  God  in 
the  second  chapter,  and  simply  God  in  the  first. 

"The  third  distinctive  peculiarity  is,  that  man  is  de- 
scribed in  the  first  chapter  as  being  created  male  and 
female,  on  the  sixth  day.  In  the  second,  after  the  seventh 
day  is  described,  he  is  created  as  Adam,  alone,  and  not 
until  many  proceedings  are  narrated  which  cannot  be  sup- 
posed as  having  taken  place  in  twelve  or  twenty-four 
hours,  is  it  found  not  to  be  good  for  man  to  dwell  alone, 
and  during  Adam's  sleep  Eve  is  formed.  We  do  not  mean 
it  to  be  inferred  that  we  think  man's  physical  creation  is 
related  in  either  the  first  or  the  second  chapter.  An  in- 
quiry into  that  is  the  proper  subject  of  natural  science, 
not  of  divine  revelation.  God's  Word  has  to  do  with 
souls,  churches,  and  man's  spiritual  career,  not  with 
earthly  questions,  which  scientific  lore  is  quite  adequate  to 
solve.  There  are  sufficient  indications  of  the  existence  of 
other  inhabitants  of  the  world  in  the  time  of  Adam  and 
Eve,  to  show  that  their  history  is  not  the  account  of  the 
single  solitary  family  of  human  beings  then  inhabiting 
the  globe.  Cain  went  into  the  land  of  Nod,  and  there  he 
took  a  wife  (chap.  iv.  17).  Whence  came  his  wife,  if  there 
were  no  other  people  yet  existing  than  his  own  father  and 
mother?  When  he  slew  his  brother  Abel,  and  was  con- 
victed by  Jehovah,  he  complained  that  when  he  was  cast 


THE   CREATION   OF  MAN   AND  WOMAN.  43 

out  from  his  presence,  every  one  that  met  him  would  kill 
him,  and  Jehovah  set  a  mark  upon  him  for  his  protection. 
Of  whom  could  he  be  afraid,  if  there  were  no  one  on  earth 
but  his  father  and  mother?  He  built  a  city,  It  is  said, 
and  called  it  after  the  name  of  his  son  Enoch  (ver.  17). 
Whence  did  they  get  the  building  materials  ?  Surely  a 
city  implies  more  than  one  family. 

"  In  thinking,  therefore,  of  Adam,  we  must  dismiss  from 
our  minds  the  idea  of  the  natural  creation  of  man  as  the 
subject  of  our  divine  narrative  at  all.  Doubtless  God 
created  the  physical  universe,  and  man  upon  it;  but  that 
is  not  the  subject  now,  nor  of  that  revelation  whose  grand 
purpose  everywhere  i>  not  natural  history,  nor  external 
events,  except  us  the  medium  of  conveying  heavenly  and 
divine  instruction  (Tsa.  Iv.  8). 

"Adam  is  the  generic  name  for  all  human  beings;  in 
Hebrew  it  is  equivalent  to  MAN.  Hence  it  is  said  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  the  book  before  us  (ver.  2),  'God  created 
them  male  and  female,  and  called  THEIR  name  Adam  in 
the  day,'  etc.  This  single  appellation,  Man,  was  expressive, 
among  the  wise  ones  of  old,  of  human  beings  in  a  regen- 
erated state ;  and  as  these,  when  presented  together  in  the 
divine  sight,  compose  one  body  (1  Cor.  xii.  12),  the  Church, 
however  numerous  the  members  may  be,  are  called  by  this 
one  name,  MAN  or  Adam. 

"This  is  expressed  very  strikingly  in  the  Hebrew  of 
Ezek.  xxxiv.  31 :  '  And  ye  my  flock,  the  flock  of  my  pas- 
ture, are  Adam,  and  I  am  your  God,  saith  the  Lord 
Jehovah.' 

"Let  us  resume,  then,  the  inquiry  for  the  spiritual 
reason  why  man  is  spoken  of  in  the  first  chapter  as  having 
been  created  male  and  female,  and  in  the  second  as  Adam 
alone. 

"  In  the  spiritual  states  of  man,  which  we  have  seen  to 
be  described  in  the  first  chapter,  and  in  which  truth  in 
the  intellect  is  the  sovereign  ruler,  the  two  grand  facul- 
ties of  the  mind  are  distinctly  presented  as  male  and 


44  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

female.  The  intellect  is  male,  for  intellect  predominates 
in  the  properly  developed  manly  character;  uie  will,  the 
seat  of  the  affections,  is  female,  for  the  heart  is  the  pre- 
dominating characteristic  of  the  true  womanly  character. 
Both  these  grand  faculties  are,  however,  found  in  each 
mind,  so  that,  in  a  certain  sense,  each  mind  is  male  and 
female,  and  when  both  the  heart  and  the  understanding 
are  combined  in  the  reception  of  true  religion,  in  that 
mind  there  is  a  marriage,  an  interior  union  of  the  truth 
which  is  understood,  with  the  goodness  which  is  loved: 
their  land  is  married  (Isa.  Ixii.  4),  they  know  the  truth, 
and  they  are  happy  because  they  do  it. 

"Now,  while  man  is  in  spiritual  states,  and  has  first  to 
learn  the  truth  by  slow  investigation  and  reasoning,  and 
afterwards  to  bring  his  heart  by  further  effort,  to  adopt 
the  truth,  and  do  it,  he  perceives  these  two  faculties  of  his 
soul  very  distinctly,  as  though  they  were  separate.  He 
feels  that  he  is  male  and  female.  But  when  he  has  en- 
tered int3  the  celestial  state,  so  that  love  from  the  heart 
rules  every  lower  faculty  and  power,  this  divided  con- 
sciousness disappears.  He  feels  as  one  embodiment  of  love, 
from  first  to  last.  Heavenly  love  in  him  adores,  love  be- 
lieves, love  bears,  love  speaks,  love  acts.  He  becomes  a 
form  of  holy  love.  That  principle  glistens  in  his  eye, 
pervades  his  language,  and  if  the  spirit  could  be  visibly 
presented  to  the  sight,  it  would  be  a  beautiful  form  of 
celestial  affections  embodied.  Because  this  state,  the 
celestial  one,  is  the  subject  of  the  second  chapter,  Adam  is 
presented  up  to  the  time  when  something  not  good  is  dis- 
covered, as  dwelling  in  Eden,  alone. 

"We  have  a  parallel  presented  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  28: 
*  Israel  then  shall  dwell  in  safety,  ALOISTE:  the  fountain  of 
Jacob  shall  be  upon  a  land  of  corn  and  wine ;  also  his 
heavens  shall  drop  down  dew.'  Here,  Israel  is  treated  as 
one  person,  and  dwelling  alone,  when  there  was  nothing 
foreign,  or  adverse  there.  The  loneliness  is  not  that  of 
solitariness,  but  of  unity.  So  is  it  in  the  celestial  state  of 


THE   CKEATIOX   OF   MAN   AND   WOMAN.  45 

inan,  or  of  the  Church.  The  ruling  love,  being  heavenly, 
glows  like  a  celestial  fire  in  the  highest  region  of  the  soul ; 
wisdom,  like  a  flame  from  that  fire,  illuminates  the  whole 
mind  with  a  calm  and  holy  light.  All  things  below  have 
been  moulded  to  delightful  and  ready  obedience,  and 
happy  order  rules  in  every  principle  of  tne  character-  and 
life.  Then,  man  dwells  in  Eden,  in  safety,  alone. " 

Such,  then,  are  some  of  the  lessons  which  are  presented 
for  our  consideration  in  the  divine  account  of  man  in 
Eden,  spiritually  understood,  or  when  this  portion  of  the 
Divine  Word  is  unfolded  according  to  the  law  of  corre- 
spondences between  spiritual  and  natural  things,  revealed 
by  the  Lord  through  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 


VIII. 

Eve. 

rTIHE  men  of  the  most  ancient  Church  were  led  by  the 
-L  Lord,  and  had  a  perception  of  that  which  was  good 
and  true,  and  they  acknowledged  the  Lord  as  the  giver  and 
themselves  as  bat  recipients.  They  were  said  to  dwell 
alone,  because  they  were  under  the  Lord's  guidance  as 
celestial  men,  and  were  not  infested  by  evils  or  evil  spirits. 
But  their  posterity  began  gradually  to  decline  from  this 
exalted  state,  and  were  not  content  to  be  led  by  the  Lord, 
but  desired  also  to  be  guided  by  themselves  and  the  world. 
By  the  woman  which  was  formed  and  given  to  the  man 
is  signified  selfhood,  or  what  is  properly  one's  own,  or 
rather  what  appears  to  be  one's  own.  The  state  of  man5 
when  he  supposes  his  life  to  be  self-derived,  is  compared 
to  deep  sleep,  and  by  the  ancients  it  was  called  deep  sleep, 
and  in  the  Word  it  is  said  of  such  that  they  have  poured 
out  upon  them  the  spirit  of  deep  sleep,  and  that  they 
sleep  the  sleep.  By  a  rib,  which  is  a  bone  of  the  chest,  is 
meant  man's  selfhood,  or  proprium,  referred  to  above,  in 
whicK  there  jsbuLt.  little  .vitality,  as  hones  possess  little 


46  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

vitality  or  life.  By  to  build  is  spiritually  signified  to  raise 
up  what  was  fallen;  by  the  rib,  the  comparatively  dead 
selfhood  or  love  of  self  and  the  world;  by  a  woman  is 
signified  a  selfhood  vivified  or  made  alive  by  the  Lord ; 
by  he  brought  her  to  the  man  is  signified  that  a  selfhood 
or  proprium  was  "granted  him.  Their  being  naked  and 
not  ashamed,  signifies  that  they  were  innocent;  for  the 
Lord  had  insinuated  innocence  into  their  selfhood  or  pro- 
prium, to  prevent  its  being  offensive  to  him.  "The 
posterity  of  this  Church,"  says  Swedenborg,  "did  not  wish, 
like  their  parents,  to  be  a  celestial  man,  but  to  be  under 
their  own  self-guidance,  and  thus  inclining  to  selfhood; 
it  was  granted  to  them,  but  still  one  vivified  or  made  alive 
by  the  Lord,  and  therefore  called  a  woman,  and  afterwards 
a  wife."  Instead  of  perceiving  and  feeling  as  their  an- 
cestors constantly  did,  that  all  life,  all  truth  and  goodness, 
were  from  the  Lord,  and  that  they  were  living  from  Him, 
they  were  still  permitted  to  perceive  that  they  lived  from 
the  Lord,  although  when  not  reflecting  on  the  subject 
they  knew  no  other  but  that  they  lived  from  themselves. 
"It  is  not,"  says  Swedenborg,  "however,  easy  to  perceive 
how  these  things  are,  unless  the  state  of  the  celestial  man 
is  understood.  In  the  celestial  man  the  internal  man  is 
distinct  from  the  external;  indeed,  so  distinct  that  he  per- 
ceives what  belongs  to  the  internal,  and  what  to  the  ex- 
ternal, and  how  the  external  is  governed  by  the  internal 
from  the  Lord.  But  the  state  of  the  posterity  of  this 
celestial  man,  in  consequence  of  inclining  to  proprium  or 
the  affections  which  belong  to  the  external  man,  was  so 
changed,  that  they  no  longer  perceived  the  internal  man 
to  be  distinct  from  the  external,  but  imagined  the  internal 
to  be  one  with  the  external ;  for  such  a  perception  takes 
place  when  man  inclines  to  proprium,  or  to  the  love  of 
self  and  the  world." 

The  posterity  of  the  Most  Ancient  Church,  or  of  Adam 
when  he  dwelt  alone,  was  not  evil  but  still  good ;  and  be- 
cause they  desired  to  live  in  the  external  man,  or  in  pro- 


EVE.  47 

prium,  this  was  permitted  by  the  Lord,  but  charity  and 
innocence  were  insinuated;  and  men  still  made  the  ex- 
ternal things  subordinate  to  spiritual,  and  ijsed  the 
things  of  this  world  without  placing  their  chief  delight 
therein ;  the  fall  was  not  yet,  but  was  to  come. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  in  a  few  words,  touching  here 
and  there  only,  a  very  good  or  even  clear  idea  of  the 
wonderful  practical  treasures  of  spiritual  knowledge  con- 
tained in  these  divine  chapters  when  spiritually  unfolded 
according  to  the  science  of  correspondences.  If  the  reader 
would  understand  this  part  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  he 
must  read  the  first  volume  of  Swedenborg's  "  Arcana  Coeles- 
tia,"  and  he  will  there  find  every  verse,  sentence  and  word 
carefully  unfolded,  and  will  be  able  to  see  that  the  Word 
of  the  Lord  is  indeed  infinite,  and  contains  treasures  for 
him  vastly  surpassing  in  value  all  earthly  treasures. 


IX. 
The  Garden  of  Eden — Its  Trees  and  River. 

"  And  the  Lord  God  planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden ;  and 
there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had  formed.  And  out  of  the  ground' 
made  the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight 
and  good  for  food ;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  And  a  river  went  out 
of  Ed  on  to  water  the  garden;  and  from  thence  it  was  parted,  and 
became  into  four  heads." — GEN.  ii.  8-10. 

"  rpHAT  this  garden,"  says  the  Eev.  Dr.  Bay  ley,  "its 
-L  trees,  and  fountain  with  four  streams,  were  never 
intended  to  be  otherwise  than  allegorically  understood,  the 
very  names,  as  already  intimated,  themselves  undoubtedly 
imply.  What  is  a  Tree  of  Life  ?  The  Book  of  Proverbs 
answers,  Wisdom  is  a  Tree  of  Life.  And  may  we  not  ask 
the  firmest  adherent  to  the  letter  of  the  Scriptures  only, 
Did  you  ever  find  life  growing  on  any  earthly  tree  ?  Has 
life  more  than  one  source,  and  do  we  not  regard  this  to 
be  Him  who  is  the  Life  ?  Do  we  not  find  this  same  tree 


4#  SKEPTICISM   ASD   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

declared  in  the  Book  of  Eevelation  to  be  in  the  midst  of 
heaven  ?  '  To  him  that  overcometh/  it  is  said,  '  I  will 
give  to  eat  of  the  Tree  of  Lii'e  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
paradise  of  God 9  (Eev.  ii.  7).  But  can  any  rational  mind 
suppose  that  an  earthly  tree  has  been  transplanted  to  a 
spiritual  and  heavenly  world  ?  The  idea  is  obviously  un- 
worthy of  being  rationally  entertained.  Again,  we  find  the 
Tree  of  Life  in  the  midst  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  on 
both  sides  of  the  river.  '  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it, 
and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  was  there  the  Tree  of  Life, 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit 
every  month;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations'  (Rev.  xxii.  2).  Is  this  at  all  com- 
patible with  the  idea  of  a  literal  tree?  Assuredly  not. 
But  when  on  the  other  hand  we  reflect  that  from  the  one 
source  of  life,  the  Lord,  there  descend  two  grand  influ- 
ences— Love  and  Wisdom — in  the  most  intimate  union; 
and  these  form  the  inmost  powers  of  light  and  blessing  to 
the  regenerated  soul — the  soul  in  the  state  of  paradise, 
then  we  recognize  the  tree  of  two  lives  in  the  ancient 
garden  of  Eden.  We  say  the  tree  of  two  lives,  for  the 
word  rendered  life,  hacliayitn,  is  in  the  dual,  not  in  the 
singular,  nor  in  the  general  plural,  in  the  account  of  this 
tree  in  our  text.  The  holy  influence  of  the  Lord,  in  its 
twofold  character  of  love  and  light  within,  is  the  tree  of 
lives.  This  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden  of  the  soul. 
This  is  the  source  of  the  joys  of  the  angels.  This  is  the 
centre,  and  pervades  all  the  principles  of  the  New  Church 
called  the  New  Jerusalem.  The  virtues  it  inspires  in  all 
the  varying  states  of  man's  regeneration — as  his  faith 
waxes  and  wanes,  and  thus  his  spiritual  months  go  on — are 
the  twelve  manner  of  fruits  it  bears.  On  its  holy  branches 
grow  acts  of  patience  for  seasons  of  affliction,  of  gratitude 
for  those  of  prosperity,  of  trust  and  fortitude  in  the  storms 
of  life,  of  benevolence,  charity,  and  justice  in  our  daily 
walk,  and  of  hope,  ever  speaking  of  better  things,  like  an 
inward  gem  glittering  in  all  the  golden  fruit  of  this  divine 


THE   GARDEN   OF   EDEJ^.  49 

tree.     Its  leaves  are  the  truths,  which  are  for  the  healing 
of  the  nations. 

"  The  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  is  equally  in- 
dicative of  a  spiritual  existence,  not  of  a  natural  plant. 
For  on  what  tree  does  knowledge  grow,  save  on  the  human 
mind?  The  idle  fancy  that  this  tree  was  an  apple-tree 
cannot  be  called  a  thought,  it  is  a  fancy  having  no  rational 
ground.  Can  knowledge  be  cut  from  an  apple,  or  squeezed 
from  a  fig  ?  We  find  knowledge  grows  only  as  we  exercise 
the  desire  to  know. 

"  The  knowledge  of  external  things  may  well  be  called 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  for  it  is  the  knowledge  of 
the  results  of  order  and  disorder,  of  fitness  and  unfitness, 
of  truths  and  appearances.  It  is  an  acquaintance  with  the 
outsides  of  things.  This  knowledge  is  useful  for  earthly 
purposes,  but  is  not  the  real  truth.  It  is  a  tree  that  has 
its  uses  in  the  garden,  but  its  fruit  is  not  to  be  eaten. 
Our  own  sensations  give  us  a  knowledge  of  ourselves,  but 
that  knowledge  is  full  of  fallacy,  and  needs  the  constant 
correction  of  a  higher  wisdom.  We  feel  as  if  our  life  were 
our  own.  We  are  conscious  of  no  origin  of  life  out  of 
ourselves.  We  feel  that  we  exist,  but  we  do  not  feel  the 
stream  of  life  from  which  our  existence  is  momentarily 
maintained.  Judging  from  our  own  sensations,  we  are 
self-existent.  This,  however,  is  an  appearance,  which  we 
must  beware  of  confirming.  Let  the  tree  grow  for  its  own 
purposes,  but  do  not  eat  the  fruit.  Our  own  knowledge 
is  good  to  know  and  to  use,  but  not  to  eat,  or  to  confirm, 
and  make  part  of  ourselves.  The  perceptions  of  heavenly 
wisdom  are  the  other  trees  of  the  garden ;  and  of  these  we 
may  freely  eat — they  are  in  accordance  with  eternal  truth. 
But,  of  the  tree  of  our  own  self-perceived  knowledge  we 
may  not  eat,  for  in  the  day,  or  state,  in  which  we  eat  of  it, 
we  enter  upon  the  path  of  error,  of  self-will,  of  carnal- 
mindedness,  of  spiritual  death;  'For  to  be  carnally 
minded  is  death ;  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and 
peace/ 

3 


50  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

"  Both  trees  can  be  rightly  admitted  into  our  garden, 
but  each  must  have  its  proper  place,  and  each  its  proper 
value  assigned :  the  Tree  of  Lives  must  be  in  the  midst  of 
the  garden ;  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  at 
the  circumference.  That  a  garden,  and  especially  the 
garden  of  Eden,  is  regarded  in  the  sacred  Scripture  a? 
symbolic  of  a  regenerated,  cultivated  state  of  the  soul,  is 
manifest  in  the  declarations  of  the  prophets.  The  prophet 
Isaiah  said:  'The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually,  and 
satisfy  thy  soul  in  drought,  and  make  fat  thy  bones :  and 
thou  shall -be  like  a  watered  garden,  and  like,  a  spring  of 
water,  whose  waters  fail  not'  (Iviii.  11).  Jeremiah  adopts 
the  same  language  of  correspondence :  "  Therefore  they 
shall  come  and  sing  in  the  heights  of  Zion,  and  shall  flow 
together  to  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  for  wheat  and  for 
wine,  and  for  oil,  and  for  the  young  of  the  flock  and  of 
the  herd:  and  their  soul  shall  be  as  a  watered  garden; 
and  they  shall  not  sorrow  any  more  at  all '  (xxxi.  12). 

"This  circumstance  gives  us  the  reason  why  the  site  of 
Eden  has  never  been  found.  Persons  who  have  had  no 
higher  idea  of  the  Divine  Word  than  the  literal  one,  have 
sought  everywhere  to  discover  a  land  watered  by  four 
rivers  flowing  from  one  fountain :  one  of  the  rivers  being 
the  Euphrates.  No  satisfactory  discovery  has  ever  been 
made. 

"  But  all  have  admitted  that  the  exact  site  could  not  be 
found.  And  yet,  according  to  the  prophet,  the  king  of 
Tyre  had  found  it,  and  been  in  it  many  hundreds  of  years 
after  the  flood,  if  it  also  were  a  natural  event.  '  Son  of 
man,  take  up  a  lamentation  upon  the  king  of  Tyrus,  and 
say  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ;  Thou  sealest  up 
the  sum,  full  of  wisdom,  and  perfect  in  beauty.  Thou  hast 
been  in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God;  every  precious  stone 
was  thy  covering,  the  sardius,  topaz,  etc.,  *  *  *  *  thou 
hast  walked  up  and  down  in  the  midst  of  the  stones  of 
fire '  (Ezek.  xxviii.  12-14). 

"If  the  garden  of  Eden  means  a  cultivated,  enlightened, 


THE   GABDEK  OF  EDE]tf.  51 

and  happy  state  of  mind,  this  language  is  not  difficult  to 
be  understood.  The  precious  stones  represent  precious 
truths;  the  stones  of  fire,  truths  glowing  with  love,  for 
love  is  spiritual  heat. 

"Another  mention  of  the  trees  of  Eden  is  made  by  the 
same  prophet  in  chapter  thirty-one,  where  the  language  of 
the  whole  chapter  is  unquestionably  allegorical.  *  Behold/ 
it  is  said,  'the  Assyrian  was  a  cedar  in  Lebanon,  with  fair 
branches,  and  with  a  shadowing  shroud,  and  of  a  high 
stature;  and  his  top  was  among  the  thick  boughs'  (ver.  3). 
Of  the  Assyrian  thus  represented  by  a  majestic  cedar,  the 
prophet  proceeds  to  say :  '  The  cedars  in  the  garden  of  God 
could  not  hide  him :  the  fir  trees  were  not  like  his  boughs, 
and  the  chestnut  trees  were  not  like  his  branches;  nor  any 
tree  in  the  garden  of  God  was  like  unto  him  in  his  beauty. 
I  have  made  him  fair  by  the  multitude  of  his  branches: 
so  that  all  the  trees  of  Eden  that  were  in  the  garden  of 
God  envied  him'  (ver.  8,  9).  Again:  'I  made  the  nations 
to  shake  at  the  sound  of  his  fall,  when  I  cast  him  down  to 
hell  with  them  that  descend  into  the  pit :  and  all  the  trees 
of  Eden,  the  choice  and  best  of  Lebanon,  all  that  drink 
water,  shall  be  comforted  in  the  nether  parts  of  the  earth ' 
(ver.  16).  Here,  it  is  manifest,  no  natural  trees  can  be 
meant.  These  could  not  envy  the  Assyrian,  or  strive  to 
hide  him.  These  could  not  be  comforted  when  they  went 
down  to  the  pit,  with  them  that  are  slain.  From  every 
consideration,  therefore,  it  is  clear,  that  in  the  Divine 
Word,  Eden  and  its  trees  are  the  types  of  a  mental  and  a 
spiritual  paradise,  not  of  a- natural  garden. 

"The  river  which  watered  the  garden,  with  its  four 
heads  of  subordinate  streams,  though  nowhere  found  in 
nature,  is  easily  found  in  spirit.  It  is  that  Divine  Truth, 
which  is  called  the  'river  of  the  water  of  life '  (Eev.  xxii.  1), 
which  is  meant  by  the  River  of  God,  which  is  full  of 
waters;  and  that  holy  stream  which  the  prophet  saw,  and 
which  'made  everything  live  where  it  went'  (Ezek.  xlvii. 
9).  Divine  Truth  as  it  descends  from  the  Lord  comes  as 


52  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

one  river,  but  as  it  is  received  by  man  it  is  parted  into 
four  great  divisions,  faith,  knowledge,  reason,  and  science ; 
and  these  illustrate  the  different  departments  of  the  mind, 
which  are  like  so  many  countries  into  which  they  flow. 

"  Happy  is  it  with  man  when  all  these  streams  are  re- 
ceived and  harmonize  together.  His  state  is  then  an  Eden 
indeed;  a  paradise  of  light,  and  love,  and  joy. 

"  We  must  return  to  the  Eden  state,  or  we  can  never 
attain  the  joys  of  Paradise.  The  Lord  will  sow  the  good 
seed  of  the  Word  in  our  souls,  if  we  will  permit  Him.  He 
will  give  us  power  to  cultivate  our  minds,  and  make  our 
souls  like  a  watered  garden.  We  must  have  His  love  and 
wisdom  like  a  tree  of  lives  in  the  centre  of  our  garden,  and 
of  its  fruits  we  may  eat  and  live.  This  is  the  only  way  of 
securing  Paradise.  The  kingdom  of  God  must  be  formed 
within  (Luke  xvii.  21).  It  is  indeed  not  meat  and  drink, 
bat  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (Eom0 
xiv.  17). .  How  vain  is  the  dream  of  those  who  fancy  thai 
to  find  happiness  they  must  seek  it  in  distant  lands— somo 
in  Jerusalem,  some  in  Mecca,  some  in  Home.  Heaven  and 
happiness  are  as  near  in  our  beloved  land  as  on  any  spot  of 
God's  earth,  and  by  them  who  seek  faithfully,  by  help  from 
our  blessed  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  subdue  the  sources 
of  misery  in  themselves,  in  their  vices,  their  passions,  and 
their  follies,  whether  they  dwell  in  a  palace  or  in  a  cottage, 
in  an  island,  or  in  distant  lands,  the  divine  promise  will  to 
them  be  realized :  '  The  Lord  shall  comfort  Zion :  he  will 
comfort  all  her  waste  places ;  and  he  will  make  her  wilder- 
ness like  Eden,  and  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord ; 
joy  and  gladness  shall  be  found  therein,  thanksgiving,  and 
the  voice  of  melody"  (Isa  li.  3). 

If  the  reader  would  understand  this  wonderful  allegory 
of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  as  fully  unfolded  by  the  science  of 
correspondences  between  spiritual  and  natural  things,  he 
must  read  the  first  volume  of  Swedenborg's  "Arcana 
Ccelestia." 


THE   FALL   0?   MA^.  53 


X. 

The  Fall  of  Man— The  .Serpent— And  the  Curse 
Introduced  into  the  World. 

(WRITTEN  BY  THE  REV.  DR.  BAYLEY/OF  LONDON.) 

"  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman,  What  is  this  that  thou 
hast  done  ?  And  the  woman  said,  The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and 
I  did  eat."— GEN.  iii.  13. 

"  rriHAT  man  is  not  now  in  the  condition  in  which 
i  he  must  have  been  created  seems  evident  if  we 
reflect  upon  the  perfections  of  his  Divine  Creator,  or  the 
manifest  capabilities  of  the  human  constitution,  and  then 
notice  the  individual  and  social  state  of  the  race  at  present. 
When  man  came  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker,  without 
the  intervention  of  other  human  beings,  he  must  have 
been  complete  and  unperverted  in  his  degree  of  life,  and' 
in  his  powers,  though  that  degree  and  those  powers  were 
finite;  since  his  Divine  Creator  must  have  been  too  good 
not  to  desire  to  make  him  complete  for  happiness,  too  wise 
not  to  know  how  to  accomplish  His  purpose,  and  too 
powerful  not  to  be  able  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Man  must, 
therefore,  have  been  created,  at  first,  in  a  state  of  order, 
and  with  every  power  to  arrive  at  the  possession  of  the 
highest,  fullest  bliss.  But  now,  alas,  how  changed  is  the 
whole  scene  of  mankind !  Swarms  of  police  and  immense 
standing  armies  are  required  to  prevent  private  and  public 
ruffians  from  preying  upon  mankind.  Wild  passions  are 
with  difficulty  restrained;  now  and  then  they  burst  all 
bounds,  and  like  volcanoes  which  have  been  long  pent  up, 
but  whose  burning  surges  can  no  longer  be  held  in,  they 
pour  forth  their  rivers  of  scorching  death  on  all  around. 
Universal  imperfection  is  admitted,  and  testifies  to  an 
universal  fall,  seen  from  the  outside  of  society.  But  when 
we  regard  man  as  he  is  within,  he  who  watches  his  own 
heart  and  mind  knows  how  much  there  is  to  subdue. 


54  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   EEVELATION. 

reform,  and  to  regenerate,  before  lie  can  be  happy.  Others 
see,  sometimes,  what  is  done,  but  they  see  not  what  is 
resisted.  'The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and 
desperately  wicked,  who  can  know  it  ?'  (Jer.  xvii.  9.)  The 
human  mind  is  like  a  magnificent  building  whose  splendid 
arches  and  glorious  proportions  may  be  traced,  but  which 
lies  in  ruins.  It  is  a  volume  of  incalculable  worth,  on 
which  the  laws  of  eternal  righteousness  are  to  be  traced  iu 
golden  letters,  but,  alas !  it  is  all  torn  and  blotted,  and  can 
only,  by  a  divine  hand,  be  restored.  The  world  within  is 
like  the  world  without.  By  the  diligent  hand  of  cultiva- 
tion fair  spots  are  formed  of  verdure  and  of  beauty,  lovely 
enough  to  show  what  is  the  intention  of  its  Maker,  and 
what  are  its  capabilities,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  actually 
deformed  with  jungle  and  desert,  with  marsh  and  quag- 
mire, with  thorn  and  briar.  Wild  beasts  of  every  hideous 
and  terrible  form  hide,  and  howl,  and  roar,  and  fight,  and 
destroy  there.  Such  is  the  human  soul  now.  How  came 
it  thus  ?  That  is  our  present  inquiry. 

"  The  history  of  nations  has  no  answer  to  our  present 
question.  Human  philosophy  is  equally  dumb.  Divine 
revelation  imports  to  give  an  answer,  and  the  question 
upon  which  we  are  now  engaged  is,  What  does  the  answer 
mean? 

"Those  who  take  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis  as  a 
literal  history  inform  us  that  a  natural  serpent  seduced  our 
first  parents,  and  persuaded  them  to  eat  of  a  fruit  which 
God  had  forbidden  to  be  touched,  and  for  this  offence  God 
cursed  them  and  their  posterity,  the  serpent,  and  the 
earth.  But  this  is  so  strange  an  account,  that  if  it  had 
not  first  been  childishly  received  in  the  dark  ages,  and 
continued  to  be  taught  us  generally  in  childhood,  it  would 
not  have  been  received  at  all.  What  a  strange  idea  does  it 
give  of  God,  when  it  represents  Him  as  placing  a  tree 
needlessly  in  paradise ;  for,  according  to  this  idea,  its  fruit 
was  never  to  be  tasted,  it  could  only  tantalize  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  garden.  What  a  character  does  it  attribute  to 


THE  FALL   OF   MAN.  55 

infinite  love,  the  best  of  Beings,  when  it  describes  Him  as 
so  jealous  of  the  fruit  of  this  one  tree,  and  so  unfeeling  to 
His  immortal  children,  as  to  curse  them  and  their  unborn 
posterity,  because  this  fruit  was  taken!  What  an  im- 
probable circumstance  is  narrated,  when  we  are  told  that 
our  first  parents  in  their  perfect  state  could  be  seduced  by 
an  animal,  and  be  led  away  from  God  by  a  beast  of  the 
field.  This  has  been  felt  to  be  so  improbable  that  many 
have  said  the  devil  was  in  the  serpent,  but  Moses  says  not 
a  word  about  any  devil  entering  the  serpent.  His  words 
are  simply,  'Now  the  serpent  was  more  subtle  than  any 
beast  of  the  field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made '  (Gen. 
iii.  1).  And  if  a  devil  was  the  real  delinquent,  how  comes 
it  to  pass  that  he  escapes  without  a  word,  while  the  poor 
serpent,  his  innocent  tool,  is  punished  ?  By  this  mode  of 
understanding  the  narrative  the  real  culprit  is  never  men- 
tioned, the  beast  is  condemned  to  go  on  its  belly  and  to 
eat  dust  all  the  days  of  its  life.  And  what  is  still  more 
wonderful,  not  only  does  the  devil  escape  unnoticed,  but 
the  serpent  takes  no  notice  of  the  sort  of  food  he  is  con- 
demned to  live  upon,  and  declines  to  eat  dust  any  more 
than  other  carnivorous  animals. 

"  This  serpent,  too,  according  to  a  mere  literal  interpre- 
tation, should  have  its  head  bruised  by  the  Messiah,  and  it 
should  bruise  His  heel  (chap.  iii.  15).  But  who  ever 
heard  of  its  continuing  to  live  four  thousand  years,  until 
the  Saviour  came,  or  then  fulfilling  this  prediction  ? 

"But  it  is  said,  God  gave  a  law  respecting  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil :  '  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it,  for 
in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die 9 
(Gen.  ii.  17).  And  he  was  bound  by  His  undeviating 
truth  to  put  this  law  into  execution.  But  here  the  literal 
interpretation  meets  with  another  difficulty,  or  rather  with 
several  difficulties.  For,  taking  the  word  death  in  the 
natural  sense,  its  advocates  are  compelled  to  admit  Adam 
did  not  die  on  the  day  he  ate  of  the  tree,  and  not  until 
nine  hundred  and  thirty  years  after.  If  this  death  were  a 


56  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

curse,  these  advocates  say,  Christ  took  upon  Himself  the 
curse  inflicted  upon  man,  and  so  saved  the  human  race. 
Of  course  then  man  ought  not  to  die.  Besides,  in  that 
case,  the  law  which  it  was  said  God  was,  by  His  unde- 
viating  truth,  bound  to  enforce,  was  not  enforced  after  all; 
for  the  law  was  <THOU  shalt  surely  die.'  It  says  not  one 
word  of  any  one  dying  for  him.  The  death  of  another 
would  not  fulfil  the  law,  THOU  shalt  surely  die.  Lastly, 
all  this  argument  respecting  the  inflexible  law  goes  upon 
the  implied  meaning  of  the  law  to  be  what  it  by  no  means 
expresses.  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  I  will  cause 
thee  to  die,  or  I  will  put  thee  to  death.  There  is,  how- 
ever, nothing  of  this  kind  in  the  announcement. 

"Having  seen  the  difficulties  which  crowd  around  a 
merely  natural  interpretation  of  the  serpent,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances which  are  connected  with  it  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  and  seen  how  full  an  illustration  they 
give  of  what  the  apostle  calls  'the  letter  that  killeth,' 
let  us  now  advance  to  the  '  spirit  which  giveth  life' 
(2  Cor.  iii.  6). 

"  That  the  serpent  is  used  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  with 
a  spiritual  meaning,  is  evident  from  this  very  Book  of 
Genesis,  and  almost  frpm  every  other.  We  read,  chap, 
xlix.  17,  'Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the  way,  an  adder  in 
the  path,  that  biteth  the  horse's  heels,  so  that  his  rider 
shall  fall  backward;'  very  obscure  this  language,  unless 
we  apply  to  its  interpretation  the  science  of  correspond- 
ence, in  which  each  natural  object  bears  a  representation 
which  has  an  analogy  to  its  nature  and  habits.  The  ser- 
pent lives  and  moves  close  to  the  earth.  In  warm  coun- 
tries it  is  to  be  found  in  great  numbers,  in  great  variety, 
and  often  of  great  size.  Some  kinds  are  harmless,  but 
some  are  most  deadly.  They  are  generally  insidious  in 
their  movements,  and  they  spring  from  under  the  grass  or 
leaves,  or  from  their  holes  in  the  sand,  ere  the  traveller  is 
aware  that  danger  is  near.  Some  species  are  said  to  exer- 
cise great  power  of  fascination,  and  make  it  almost  impos- 


THE   FALL   OF   MAN.  57 

gible  for  the  animal  they  have  destined  for  their  prey  to 
escape.  From  all  these  circumstances,  we  can  easily 
recognize  their  analogy  with  that  affection  of  our  nature 
which  disposes  us  to  delight  in  the  gratifications  of  sense. 
The  love 'of  sensual  things  is  useful,  though  its  uses  are  of 
a  low  kind.  If  it  were  not  pleasant  to  us  to  observe  the 
beauties  of  our  lovely  world,  to  listen  to  the  music  of  the 
human  voice  and  the  harmonies  which  nature  offers,  to 
enjoy  the  fragrancies  with  which  the  balmy  air  is  loaded, 
and  to  taste  the  savours  of  the  food  which  Providence 
bestows  to  sustain  and  strengthen  us,  our  bodies  could  not 
be  maintained  as  a  healthy  base  for  the  higher  things  of 
life.  The  serpent,  though  a  creeping  animal,  has  his 
proper  place  and  use  in  the  little  world  of  the  human 
mind.  Yet  in  the  strong  excitements  of  sense  there  is 
a  subtle  tendency  to  excess,,  that  needs  the  constant  watch- 
fulness of  wisdom  to  preserve  this  principle  in  order. 
'The  serpent  is  more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the  field 
which  the  Lord  God  has  made.' 

u  Sensual  love,  when  chosen  and  preferred  above  the 
higher  and  holier  principles  that  dignify  the  moral,  the 
rational,  and  spiritual  departments  of  our  nature,  makes 
the  spirit  of  fiends  and  fiendish  men,  and  hence  is  called 
'that  old  serpent,-  even  the  devil  and  Satan,  which  de- 
ceiveth  the  whole  world/  (Rev.  xii.  9.)  To  oppose  this 
spirit,  and  destroy  its  direful  power,  the  Lord  came  into 
the  world  by  assuming  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and  thus 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  by  bruising  the  head  or  chief  power 
of  the  serpent,  when  He  conquered  hell.  The  infernal  in-> 
fluences  bruised  His  heel  or  lowest  part,  His  outward 
human  nature;  while  He  became  completely  triumphant 
by  then  glorifying  His  human  nature,  and  subduing  hell 
and  death. 

"  He  gave  His  disciples,  at  first,  and  He  still  gives  them, 
power  to  tread  upon  serpents  of  sensuality  in  themselves, 
as  He  says,  'I  beheld  Satan  like  lightning  fall  from  heaven. 
Behold  I  give  unto  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and 


58  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

scorpions,  and  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy:  and  noth- 
ing shall  by  any  means  hurt  you/  (Luke  x.  18,  19.) 

"  We  have  now  the  chief  elements  for  understanding  the 
divine  account  of  man's  fall.  The  tree  of  knowledge 
represents  the  knowledge  we  acquire  by  our  senses;  the 
serpent,  the  love  of  sensuous  knowledge  and  experience, 
which  may  be  good  or  bad,  according  as  it  is  kept  in  its 
proper  place,  or  raised  to  rule  where  it  ought  to  serve. 
When  the  serpent  is  the  servant  of  higher  principles,  it 
inspires  its  possessor  with  circumspection ;  when  suffered 
to  rule,  it  leads  to  sensuality. 

"In  the  woman's  reply  a  remarkable  fact  is  to  be 
noticed ;  she  regards  the  tree  of  knowledge  as  in  the  midst 
of  the  garden,  although  as  the  Lord  God  arranged  the 
garden,  the  tree  of  lives  was  in  the  midst  (chap.  ii.  9). 
She  says,  '  We  may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the 
garden,  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  garden,  God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it, 
neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die'  (chap.  iii.  3).  In 
this  declaration  of  the  woman  we  have  another  change  of 
state  implied;  she  regarded  the  tree  of  knowledge,  not 
the  tree  of  lives,  as  the  centre  of  all  wisdom.  When  we 
have  adopted  our  conclusions  from  the  short-sighted  ap- 
pearances of  sense,  as  being  central  truth,  we  are  ripe  for 
ruin,  and  such  was  the  condition  of  the  people  represented 
by  the  divine  record  before  us.  There  is  an  experience 
illustrative  of  this  in  the  case  of  every  one  who  falls.  If 
divine  wisdom  were  firmly  held  to,  if  the  tempted  fled  for 
refuge  from  their  own  clouded  fancies,  to  the  Rock  of  ages, 
all  would  be  well ;  but  when  they  place  the  tree  of  their 
own  knowledge  in  the  centre  of  the  mind,  they  find  their 
fancied  strength  becomes  the  veriest  weakness,  and  the 
issue  is  misery  and  death. 

"The  serpent  next  becomes  bolder.  The  sensual  prin- 
ciple strengthens  itself,  and  suggests,  '  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die :  for  God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof, 
then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods, 


THE   FALL   OF   MAN.  59 

knowing  good  and  evil/  When  we  determine  to  act  upon 
our  own  conceits,  we  deem  ourselves  singularly  clever. 
We  conclude  we  shall  take  no  harm ;  we  shall  know  how 
to  elude  all  the  dangers  Divine  Wisdom  has  predicted,  and 
all  the  world  shall  see  how  successful  shall  be  our  projects. 
We  shall  no  longer  be  hoodwinked ;  our  eyes  shall  be 
opened,  and  we  shall  be  as  gods,  showing  that  we  know 
how  to  secure,  in  our  own  way,  and  by  our  own  strength, 
selfish  indulgences  and  the  goods  of  selfish  and  worldly 
success,  and  avoid  the  evils  of  suffering,  adversity  and  want. 
We  take  then  the  fruit  of  the  tree ;  it  seems  good,  it  seems 
pleasant.  It  is  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise.  We 
take  it,  but  soon  experience  shows  that  this  wisdom  of  the 
serpent  is  the  curse  of  the  soul.  Alas  for  such  opening 
of  the  eyes  as  then  takes  place  !  A  sense  of  weakness  is 
soon  unfolded ;  a  sense  of  restlessness  and  loss ;  a  sense  of 
blame,  and  necessity  for  covering.  We  desire  to  excuse, 
and  apologize.  We  cover  ourselves  with  the  fig-leaves  of 
idle  pretences  that  we  had  no  power  to  do  otherwise,  al- 
though we  forsook  the  guidance  and  the  strength  which 
were  extended  to  save  us.  We  have  lost  the  bright  day 
of  former  light  and  love ;  it  has  become  evening,  and  we 
are  cold  and  sad. 

"  It  is  the  cool  of  the  day.  The  hour  of  reflection  has 
come  on.  The  merciful  voice  of  the  Almighty  is  perceived 
moving  in  the  garden  of  the  soul,  and  asking  the  impor- 
tant question,  '  Adam,  where  art  thou  ? ? 

"Can  any  one  conceive  that  the  All-knowing  needed  to 
inquire  after  man  in  an  earthly  garden  ?  Surely  not.  But 
He  comes  from  His  mercy  into  the  conscience  of  every  i 
one  after  sin.  The  question  implies  the  divine  impulse, 
leading  the  sinner  to  ask  himself,  'Man,  where  art  thou?' 
Eemember  where  thou  wast.  Thou  hast  been  innocent, 
peaceful,  and  happy;  how  art  thou  now?  Thou  hadst 
once  the  sweet  lessons  of  heavenly  wisdom  shining  brightly 
within  thee ;  these  are  all  obscured  and  fled.  '  Man,  where 
art  thou  ? ' 


60  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

"  The  origin  of  evil  was  not  the  introduction  of  a  new 
principle  into  human  nature ;  it  was  only  displacing  the 
principles  which  were  already  there,  and  were  all  good,  in 
their  proper  order.  Natural  evil  is  not  anything  original ; 
it  is  but  the  perversion,  or  displacement,  of  what  is  other- 
wise good.  Fire  is  a  good  thing  as  a  servant,  but  bad  as  a 
master  :  water  is  excellent  as  rain,  or  in  a  river,  but  bad  as 
a  flood:  every  power  of  the  human  mind  and  body  is  good 
in  its  place  and  proportion,  but  each  one  becomes  an  evil, 
when  unduly  exalted.  When  the  senses  and  the  passions 
of  the  lowest  degree  of  the  soul  were  raised  to  undue  im- 
portance, and  the  higher  and  holier  principles  of  the  soul 
were  first  neglected,  and  then  despised  and  disbelieved, 
this  constituted  the  fall,  and  it  was  a  real  and  fearful 
fall— the  higher  principles  of  love  to  God  and  man  were 
thrown  down,  and  made  to  serve.  The  life's  business  of 
man  now  is  to  reverse  this,  and  thus  rise  again  by  power 
from  the  great  serpent-bruiser— the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Our  serpents — our  sensual  principles,  are  now  too  fearfully 
impure,  and  too  strong  for  us.  He  will  give  us  power, 
however,  to  tread  upon  them.  It  is  hard  for  us,  at  first, 
to  resist  our  proneness  to  place  the  pleasures  of  time  be- 
fore the  purities  of  eternity,  the  desires  of  the  flesh  above 
the  principles  of  the  spirit ;  but  if  we  look  to  Him,  the 
Divine  and  Perfect  Man,  virtue  will  go  out  from  Him,  and 
we  shall  be  saved,  *  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,  for 
He  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins.'  He  will  enable 
us  to  deny  ourselves  and  all  our  faculties,  and  follow  Him. 
By  His  power  we  shall  not  only  subdue  the  sensual  things 
of  our  nature,  but  they  will  be  regenerated,  filled  with  new 
heavenly  life.  We  shall  first  tread  upon  the  serpent,  and 
then  take  it  up,  and  join  it  to  what  is  heavenly.  '  These 
signs/  our  blessed  Lord  says,  '  shall  follow  them  that 
believe;  they  shall  take  up  serpants'  (Mark  xvi.  18). 

"When  we  have  thus  struggled,  and  by  the  aid  of  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation  conquered,  in  the  conflicts  of  the 
regeneration,  the  fall  will  be  reversed  in  us;  the  love  of 


CALST   AKD   ABEL.  61 


God  and  man,  wisdom  and  faith,  peace  and  happiness, 
be  restored  to  us.  We  shall  realize  those  gracious  words 
of  the  divine  promise,  and  have  paradise  and  the  tree  of 
life  once  more.  '  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to 
eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise 
of  God'  (Rev.  ii.  7). 

"  Feeling  the  loss  of  mankind,  by  separation  from  the 
source  of  all  happiness,  wisdom,  and  peace;  feeling  our 
own  personal  want  of  the  divine  Deliverer  from  sin  and 
sorrow  ;  let  us  lift  our  eyes  and  hearts  to  our  only  Saviour, 
and  in  the  language  of  Milton  say  — 

'  Queller  of  Satan,  on  Thy  glorious  work 
Now  enter;  and  begin  to  save  mankind."' 


How  different  the  above  ideas  of  the  fall  of  man,  drawn 
from  the  writings  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  from  those 
generally  entertained;  whether  more  rational  or  not  the 
reader  can  judge  for  himself. 

XI. 

Cain  and  Abel. 

IN"  his  introduction  to  the  internal  sense  of  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  Swedenborg  says:  "Since  this 
chapter  treats  of  the  degeneracy  of  the  Most  Ancient 
Church,  or  the  falsification  of  its  doctrine,  and  conse- 
quently of  heresies  and  sects,  under  the  names  of  Cain 
and  his  descendants,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  there  is  no 
possibility  of  understanding  how  doctrine  was  falsified,  or 
what  was  the  nature  of  the  heresies  and  sects  of  that 
church,  unless  the  nature  of  the  true  church  be  rightly 
understood.  Enough  has  been  said  above  concerning  the 
Most  Ancient  Church,  showing  that  it  was  a  Celestial 
Man,  and. acknowledged  no  other  faith  than  such  as  was 
connected  with  love  towards  the  Lord,  and  the  neighbor. 
By  means  of  that  love  from  the  Lord,  they  obtained  faith, 


62  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KSVELATIGN. 

or  a  perception  of  all  its  truths,  and  were  therefore  un- 
willing to  speak  of  faith,  lest  it  should  be  separated  from 
Love.  *  *  *  Such  was  the  nature  of  the  Most  Ancient 
Church  and  of  its  doctrine ;  but  the  case  is  far  different  at 
the  present  day,  for  now  faith  precedes  charity,  and  by 
means  of  faith,  charity  is  given  by  the  Lord,  and  then 
charity  takes  the  precedence.  It  hence  follows,  that  doc- 
trine became  falsified  in  ancient  times  when  men  made 
confession  of  faith,  and  thus  separated  it  from  love.  Those 
who  falsified  doctrine  in  this  way,  or  separated  faith  from 
love,  or  acknowledged  faith  alone,  were  denominated  Cain; 
and  this  thing  was  regarded  by  them  as  an  enormous 
(heresy). 

"  By  the  man  and  his  wife  the  Most  Ancient  Church  is 
signified,  as  has  heretofore  been  shown:  its  offspring,  or 
first-born,  is  faith,  which  is  here  called  Cain ;  the  saying, 
I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord,  signifies  that  faith 
with  such  as  are  called  Cain,  is  known  and  acknowledged 
in  a  distinct  form."  *  *  *  They  had  been,  as  it  were, 
previously,  ignorant  of  faith  as  a  separate  object  of 
thought,  because  they  had  a  perception  of  what  related  to 
it ;  but,  when  they  began  to  make  a  distinct  doctrine  of 
faith,  they  then  collected  together  the  truths  which  they 
had  heretofore  perceived,  and  reduced  them  into  doctrine, 
calling  it  I  have  gotten  a  man,  Jehovah,  as  if  they  had 
found  out  something  new ;  and  thus,  what  was  before  in- 
scribed on  the  heart  became  a  mere  matter  of  science.  In 
ancient  times  they  gave  every  new  thing  a  name,  and  ex- 
plained what  the  name  implied  by  particular  sayings. 
Thus  the  signification  of  the  name  Ishmael  is  explained 
by  the  saying,  *  Jehovah  hath  heard  his  affliction'  (Gen. 
xvi.  11) ;  that  of  Keuben,  by  the  expression,  '  Jehovah 
hath  looked  upon  thy  affliction '  (Gen.  xxix.  32) ;  the 
name  Simeon,  by  the  saying,  '  Jehovah  hath  heard  that  I. 
was  hated'  (Gen.  xxix.  33);  and  that  of  Judah,  by  'Now 
will  I  praise  Jehovah  '  (ver.  35).  The  altar  built  by  Moses 
was  called  '  Jehovah  my  banner '  (Exod.  xvii.  15) ;  and 


CAIK   A^TD   ABEL.  63 

in  like  manner  the  doctrine  of  faith  is  here  denominated 
<I  have  gotten  a  man,  Jehovah/  or  Cain." 

"  The  second  offspring  of  the  church  is  charity,  signified 
by  the  terms  Abel  and  brother.  He  is  a  shepherd  of  the 
flock  who  exercises  the  good  of  charity,  and  a  tiller  of  the 
ground  is  one  who  is  destitute  of  charity,  although  prin- 
cipled in  faith  separate  from  love,  which  is,  indeed,  no 
faith."  "  Such  persons  as  regarded  corporeal  and  terres- 
trial objects  chiefly,  were  said  to  till  the  ground,  as  is 
evident  from  what  is  related  in  the  second  chapter  of 
Genesis,  19-23 ;  where  we  read,  that  the  man  was  cast  out 
of  the  Garden  of  Eden  to  till  the  ground." 

But  it  will  be  remembered  that  Cain  and  Abel  dwelt 
together  in  comparative  peace  for  a  time,  as  brethren ;  or, 
in  other  words,  faith  and  charity  were  still  united;  thus 
says  Swedenborg,  "  At  its  origin  faith  was  not  so  far  sepa- 
rated from  love  as  in  the  end  of  days,  or  in  the  progress 
of  time ;  which,  indeed,  is  the  case  with  every  doctrine  of 
true  faith."  By  Jehovah's  having  respect  unto  Abel  and 
his  offering,  is  signified  that  works  of  charity,  and  all  wor- 
ship grounded  in  charity,  were  well-pleasing  to  the  Lord. 

"  Abel  signifies  charity,  as  stated  above.  By  charity  is 
meant  love  to  the  neighbor  and  compassion ;  for  he  who 
loves  his  neighbor  as  himself,  is  also  compassionate  towards 
him  in  his  sufferings,  as  towards  himself." 

"The  firstlings  of  the  flock  signify  that  which  is  of  the 
Lord  alone,  as  appears  from  the  statement  that  the  first- 
lings or  first-born,  in  the  representative  or  Jewish  Church, 
were  all  holy,  because  they  had  relation  to  the  Lord,  who 
is  alone  the  first-born ;  and  as  all  love  is  of  the  Lord,  for 
not  the  least  portion  of  it  is  of  man,  therefore  the  Lord 
alone  is,  in  reality,  the  first-born.  This  fact  was  repre- 
sented in  the  ancient  churches  by  the  first-born  of  man 
and  of  beast  being  sacred  to  Jehovah." 

"  By  Cain,  as  has  been  stated,  is  signified  faith  separate 
from  love,  or  such  a  doctrine  as  admits  the  possibility  of 
this  separation." 


64  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

"  Cain's  being  very  wroth,  represents  that  charity  had 
departed,  as  may  appear  from  what  is  afterwards  related  of 
his  killing  his  brother  Abel,  by  whom  charity  is  signified. 
Anger  is  a  general  affection  resulting  from  whatever  is 
contradictory  to  self-love  and  its  lusts.  This  is  manifestly 
perceptible  in  the  world  of  evil  spirits,  for  there  exists  a 
common  feeling  of  anger  against  the  Lord,  in  consequence 
of  their  not  being  principled  in  charity,  but  in  hatred. 
Whatever  does  not  favor  self-love  and  love  of  the  world, . 
excites  opposition,  which  is  manifested  by  anger." 

"  Sin  in  general  is  called  the  devil,  who,  with  his  crew 
of  infernals,  is  ever  at  hand  when  man  is  destitute  of 
charity;  and  the  only  means  of  driving  away  the  devil  and 
his  crew  from  the  door  of  our  minds,  is  love  towards  the 
Lord  and  our  neighbor." 

"  Cain's  rising  up  against  his  brother  Abel,  and  slaying 
him,  when  they  were  in  the  field  together,  denotes  that 
when  both  faith  and  charity  took  their  origin  from  the 
doctrine  of  faith,  then  faith  separate  from  love  could  not 
but  disregard  and  thereby  extinguish  charity;  as  at  the 
present  day  with  those  who  maintain  that  faith  alone 
saves,  without  any  work  of  charity,  for  in  this  very  sup- 
position they  extinguish  charity,  although  they  know,  and 
confess  with  their  lips,  that  faith  is  not  saving  faith  unless 
it  be  grounded  in  love." 

Cain's  reply  when  asked,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother? 
f(  I  know  not,  am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? "  signifies  that 
he  considered  charity  as  nothing,  and  was  unwilling  to  be 
subservient  to  it,  consequently,  that  he  altogether  rejected 
everything  of  charity.  Such  at  length  became  the  doctrine 
of  those  who  were  called  Cain. 

"The  most  ancient  people,"  says  Swedenborg,  "by 
Jehovah's  speaking,  understood  perception,  for  they  knew 
that  the  Lord  gave  them  the  faculty  to  perceive.  This 
perception  could  continue  no  longer  than  whilst  love  was 
the  ruling  principle.  When  love  towards  the  Lord,  and 
neighborly  love  as  a  consequence,  ceased,  perception  per- 


THE   FLOOD.  65 

ished,  for  perception  could  only  exist  in  the  degree  that 
love  remained.  This  perceptive  faculty  was  peculiar  to 
the  Most  Ancient  Church.  When  faith  however  became 
separated  from  love,  as  in  the  people  after  the  flood,  ancl 
charity  was  communicated  through  the  medium  of  faith, 
-then  conscience  succeeded  (in  the  place  of  perception), 
dictating  to  the  mind,  although  after  a  different  mode. 
Of  this,  by  the  divine  mercy  of  the  Lord,  we  shall  speak  at 
a  future  period." 

The  want  of  space  will  compel  us  to  leave  the  reader 
who  wishes  to  pursue  this  sublime  spiritual  history  of  our 
race  to  consult  the  first  volume  of  Swedenborg's  Arcana 
Coelestia,  and  there  he  will  find  the  spiritual  signification 
of  the  historical  record  clearly  given  and  abundantly  illus- 
trated from  every  part  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  This 
section  has  been  composed  almost  entirely  of  short  extracts 
from  the  above  work.  Taken  from  their  connections  and 
illustrations,  they  can  give  the  reader  but  a  faint  idea  of 
the  depth  and  fullness  of  the  knowledge  contained  in  the 
spiritual  sense  of  this  portion  of  the  Divine  Word,  as  un- 
folded by  the  Lord  through  Swedenborg.  The  reader  will 
be  surprised  to  find  this  record  full  of  the  most  useful  and 
practical  lessons  of  spiritual  truth  adapted  especially  to 
the  wants  of  the  men  of  this  day,  and  that  it  has  provi- 
dentially been  handed  down  to  us  for  this  very  purpose — 
a  pure  allegory  instead  of  a  'literal  history  of  the  first  son 
born  to  earthly  parents  most  foully  murdering  his  inno- 
cent brother.  With  a  short  notice  of  the  Flood  and  Tower 
of  Babel,  we  shall  have  done  with  this  part  of  our  subject, 
or  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis. 

XII. 
The   Flood. 

npHERE  exists  among  some  nations  who  hare  not  the 

JL    Bible  a  tradition  of  a  flood,  and  in  Genesis  we  have 

a  description  of  a  universal  flood  so  distinct  and  clear  in 


66  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KE7ELATION. 

all  the  particulars  that  it  has  been  received  and  admitted 
as  a  record  of  a  flood  of  material  waters  by  the  Christian 
world  up  to  a  recent  date;  and  yet,  on  a  more  careful  ex- 
amination and  comparison  of  the  size  of  the  ark  with 
known  facts  in  regard  to  the  number  of  animals,  birds, 
insects  and  reptiles  which  could  not  live  in  the  water,  the 
\vant  of  adequate  ventilation,  etc.,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
general  opinion  of  scientists  who  have  examined  the  sub- 
ject, not  a  few  theologians  and  theological  writers  have 
been  compelled  to  admit  that  such  a  flood  as  is  described 
in  Genesis,  with,  the  preservation  of  animal  life  as  there 
described,  has  never  taken  place.  When  men  have  a 
dogma  or  theory  to  sustain,  it  is  very  difficult  for  them 
to  either  heed  or  see  the  whole  truth. 

The  late  Dr.  Pye  Smith  observed:  " Ingenious  calcula- 
tions have  been  made  of  the  capacity  of  the  Ark,  as  com- 
pared with  the  room  requisite  for  the  pairs  of  some 
animals,  and  the  septules  of  others ;  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  well-intentioned  calculators  have  formed  their 
estimate  upon  a  number  of  animals  leloiv  the  truth,  to  a 
degree  that  might  appear  incredible.  They  have  usually 
satisfied  themselves  with  a  provision  for  three  or  four 
hundred  species  at  most,  as  in  general  they  show  the  most 
astonishing  ignorance  of  every  branch  of  natural  history." 

And  yet  even  this  writer,  not  being  able  to  see  any- 
thing in  the  description  in  Genesis  more  important  than 
the  literal  record,  was  led  by  his  reverence  for  the  sacred 
kCriptures,  to  the  invention  of  a  theory  of  a  local  flood, 
v;hich  of  course  in  no  way  answers  the  description  in 
Genesis. 

Could  anything  show  more  clearly  the  necessity,  if  the 
sacred  Scriptures  are  to  retain  their  hold  on  the  minds  of 
men  as  divine  revelations,  of  a  new  and  higher  interpreta- 
tion of  their  meaning  ?  The  Lord  said  to  His  disciples 
when  on  earth,  "  I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  Have  not  the  wonderful 
scientific  developments  of  this  day  prepared  us  for  a  higher 


THE   FLOOD.  67 

unfolding  of  spiritual  truth?  Is  it  not  clear  that  all 
things  are  being  made  new  on  the  physical  plane  of  life  ? 
and  if  so,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  the  Lord  has  forgotten 
our  spiritual  wants  ?  Reader,  read  carefully  the  writings 
of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  and  a  new  world  of  life  and  light 
will  be  opened  to  you,,  and  you  will  be  ready  to  exclaim 
that  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  indeed  with  power 
and  great  glory.  It  will  be  clearly  shown  to  your  rational 
comprehension  that  there  are  other  floods  than  those  of 
material  waters,  and  more  to  be  dreaded  by  men,  of  which 
we  shall  treat  hereafter. 

"  But/'  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bayley,  "it  may  now  be  asked, 
Why  do  you  not  receive  the  account  of  the  flood  as  com- 
monly taught  ?  To  this  we  reply,  that,  although  we  con- 
sider the  divine  account  of  the  flood  to  be  allegorical,  we 
by  no  means  make  less  of  the  Divine  Word  than  others,  but, 
in  fact,  more.  We  perceive  immeasurably  more  in  it  than 
mere  literalists  admit,  but  we  cannot  accept  the  natural 
interpretation  of  the  history,  because  we  do  not  believe  it 
was  ever  so  intended  to  be  understood.  It  is  part  of  the 
series  which  describes  spiritual  creation  under  natural 
imagery,  trees  of  life  and  knowledge,  talking  serpents,  and 
a  variety  of  other  particulars  which  cannot  be  reconciled 
with  reason  or  with  science,  if  they  are  literally  under- 
stood; and  we  have  no  doubt  that  true  theology,  true 
reason,  and  true  science  are  in  harmony.  They  come 
from  the  same  divine  fountain. 

"  In  the  letter,  the  Word  was  given  to  each  people  in  the 
mode  best  accommodated  to  them,  and  in  the  early  ages 
allegory  was  what  they  loved.  They  gave  spiritual  history 
"in  natural  forms.  Hence  we- have  the  account  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  Church,  like  the  creation  of  the  world ;  we 
have  trees  of  life  and  knowledge,  and  a  speaking  serpent. 
Hence  the  origin  of  parables,  and  mythology;  and  to  this 
class  of  writing  belongs  the  flood.  But,  again,  it  may  be 
asked,  Why  not  consider  this  history,  in  particular,  literal? 
The  geologists  inform  us  that  there  are  no  vestiges  of  a 


68  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

universal  flood  visible  on  the  earth.  The  celebrated  Pro- 
fessor Buckland,  of  Oxford,  once  thought  otherwise,  and 
wrote  his  work  '  Keliquiae  Diluviana/  but  he  recanted  his 
opinion,  and  himself  condemned  his  former  conclusions. 
Professor  Sedgwick,  of  Cambridge,  also  declared  that  there 
were  no  appearances  in  nature  from  which  to  arrive  at  the 
conclusion  that  there  had  been  a  flood  affecting  the  whole 
earth,  during  the  period  of  human  existence.  On  closing 
his  career  as  Professor,  he  said,  (  Our  errors  were,  however, 
natural,  and  of  the  same  kind  which  led  many  excellent 
observers  of  a  former  century  to  refer  all  the  secondary 
formations  of  geology  to  the  Noachian  deluge.  Having 
been  myself  a  believer,  and,  to  the  best  of  my  power,  a 
propagator  of  what  I  now  regard  as  a  philosophical  heresy, 
and  having  more  than  once  been  quoted  for  opinions  I  do 
not  now  maintain,  I  think  it  right,  as  one  of  my  last  acts, 
before  I  quit  this  chair,  thus  publicly  to  read  my  RECAK- 
TATION".  We  ought,  indeed,  to  have  paused  before  we  first 
adopted  the  diluvian  theory,  and  referred  all  our  old  super- 
ficial gravel  to  the  action  of  the  Mosaic  flood  :  for  of 
man,  and  the  works  of  his  hands,  we  have  not  found  a 
SINGLE  TRACE  among  the  remnants  of  a  former  world 
entombed  in  these  ancient  deposits/ 

"  Some  cling  to  the  literal  account  of  the  flood,  because 
they  find  traditions  among  many  ancient  nations  of  such 
a  calamity  having  happened.  But  this  would  be  the  case 
from  a  vast  spiritual  deluge.  If  a  wild  overspreading  of 
malignant  follies  and  falsehoods  took  place,  and  an  inun- 
dation destructive  of  all  that  was  sacred  among  men 
existed,  this,  in  the  ancient  manner  of  speaking,  would  be 
called  an  universal  flood,  and  in  after  ages,  when  the 
spiritual  meaning  was  forgotten,  would  be  supposed  to 
have  been  a  flood  of  earthly  waters.  This  is  clearly  the 
case  with  the  Hindoo  tradition.  It  was  translated  by  Sir 
William  Jones  from  the  Bhagavat,  and  is  the  subject  of 
the  first  Purana.  It  is  sufficiently  like  the  Bible  account 
of,  the  deluge  to  show  that  it  alludes  ta  the  same  great 


JNOAH.  69 

event.  It  is  said  to  have  taken  place  at  the  close  of  a 
calpa,  or  dispensation,  when  there  was  a  general  destruc- 
tion, owing  to  the  sleep  of  Brahma,  and  his  creatures  in 
different  worlds  were  drowned  in  a  great  ocean.  A  holy 
king,  by  name  Satyavrata,  is  saved  by  the  appearance  of 
the  Deity  in  the  form  of  a  fish  (scientific  truth),  with  a 
great  horn  (power),  who  slays  a  demon,  and  recovers  the 
sacred  books.  This  remarkable  tradition  concludes  with 
thess  words :  '  But  the  appearance  of  a  horned  fish  to  the 
religious  monarch  was  maya,  or  delusion,  and  he  who  shall 
devoutly  hear  this  important  Allegorical  Narrative  will 
be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  sin.'  Here,  then,  we 
have  a  key  to  all  these  traditions.  The  most  perfect  of 
them  all  states  that  it  is  an  allegorical  narrative.  This  is 
in  perfect  harmony  with  our  view  of  the  flood  in  the 
Bible;  removes  every  difficulty,  and  gives  a  spiritual 
divine  lesson." 

XIII. 

Noah. 

"  rTIHE  history  of  Adam  was  not  the  history  of  an  indi- 
I  vidual  man,  but  of  a  Church  represented  as  a  man. 
The  elevation,  temptation,  and  fall  of  humanity  in  gen- 
eral, are  unfolded  by  the  lot  of  Adam  in  Eden,  his  deal- 
ings with  the  serpent,  and  his  expulsion  from  Paradise. 
'  Male  and  female  created  He  them ;  and  blessed  them,  and 
called  their  name  Adam'  (Gen.  v.  2).  Under  his  name, 
and  in  the  short  but  wonderfully  significant  history  of  the 
first  man  and  his  descendants,  the  first  church,  with  its 
offshoots,  is  delineated.  These  people,  who  are  repre- 
sented as  living  nearly  a  thousand  years  each,  are  shown 
by  Swedenborg  to  be  types  of  the  communities  which  ex- 
isted in  the  golden  age.  That  Most  Ancient  Church,  like 
all  other  great  churches,  had  sects  and  varieties  which 
were  its  generations — its  sons  and  daughters.  Each  name, 
with  the  hundreds  of  years  of  existence,  describes  in  the 


70  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

brief  Divine  style  some  state  and  quality  belonging  to  that 
church.  And  when  it  sank  altogether  with  gigantic 
lusts,  and  immersed  in  floods  of  falsehood,  it  was  suc- 
ceeded by  another  church  represented  in  the  Divine  Word 
by  Noah. 

"It  will  not  be  too  difficult  to  think  that,  as  the  church 
is  one  body  before  the  Lord,  though  consisting  of  millions 
of  members,  so  its  life  may  be  described  as  the  life  of  one 
man,  however  long  the  period  assigned  to  it  may  be.  The 
Jewish  Church  is  generally  described  in  the  singular  as 
Israel,  although  it  subsisted  for  fifteen  hundred  years.  It 
was  the  manner  of  the  ancients  thus  to  group  all  of  one 
sentiment  as  if  they  were  one  being.  It  is  derived  from 
the  Divine  Wisdom,  which  views  heaven  as  one  angel 
(Ps.  xxxiv.  7),  the  church  as  one  body  (1  Cor.  xii.  37),  a 
nation  as  one  individual,  as  Assyria  (Ezok.  xxxi.),  a  heresy 
as  cue  polluted  form  (Eev.  xvii.  5),  legions  of  infernal 
spirits  as  one  devil  (Mark  v.  9). 

"We  find  the  same  similarity  with  Genesis,  as  to  the 
ages  of  the  early  fathers  of  mankind,  in  Egyptian,  Chinese, 
and  Hindoo  mythologies.  The  first  kings  of  Egypt,  ac- 
cording to  their  traditions,  reigned  each  more  than  twelve 
hundred  years.  In  the  Chinese  books  it  is  related  that 
the  primitive  ancestors  of  mankind  lived  eighteen  hun- 
dred years.  The  Hindoos,  however,  assure  us  that  in  the 
golden  age  the  period  of  man's  life  was  eighty  thousand, 
and  at  its  best  period,  one  hundred  thousand  years.  Andi 
one  of  their  holy  kings  was  two  millions  of  years  old  when  - 
he  began  to  reign,  continued  on  the  throne  for  a  million 
of  years,  and  then  spent  in  retirement  one  hundred  thou- 
sand years  more  (See  Buckle,  vol.  I).  No  one  in  Chris- 
tendom, certainly,  would  adopt  these  numbers  literally,  and 
yet,  probably,  they  had  a  meaning  well  understood  when 
they  were  written. 

"The  spiritual  sense  removes  the  difficulties,  and  itself 
presents  admirable  lessons  concerning  man's  regeneration 
and  interior  life,  fraught  with  instruction  and  edification. 


NOAH.  71 

"Noah,  or  Consolation,  represents  those  who  would 
form  the  nucleus  of  a  New  Church,  the  germ  of  a  new  age. 
Of  these,  it  is  said,  he  called  his  name  l\oali,  saying,  '  This 
same  shall  comiori;  us  concerning  our  work  and  toil  of  our 
hands,  because  of  the  ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed' 
(cliap.  Y.  29).  And  by  these  words  is  meant  that  hy  means 
of  this  New  Church  the  difficulties  of  cultivating  the  soul 
would  be  overcome,  and  spiritual  rest  would  be  attained, 
for  another  signification  of  the  word  Noah  is  Rest.  Noah 
is  said  to  have  been  just  and  perfect,  or  upright,  in  his 
generations,  and  to  have  walked  with  God,  and  these  three 
qualifications  are  the  essentials  of  every  church.  Justice 
is  expressive  of  the  essence  of  goodness,  uprightness  of  the 
clear  acknowledgment  of  truth,  while  walking  with  God  is 
said  in  relation  to  the  activity  of  a  good  life.  These  three 
are  the  essentials  of  all  religion. 

"The  Church  called  Noah,  then,  as  possessed  of  the 
three  essentials  of  religion,  the  trinity  of  heavenly  virtues, 
is  described  as  just,  upright,  and  walking  with  God/' — 
Rev.  Dr.  Bayley. 

XIV. 

Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 

"  And  Noah  was  five  hundred  years  old :  and  Noah  begat  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth." — GEN.  v.  32. 

"  ~TT~TE  have  seen,"  says  Ee v.  Dr.  Bayley,  "  that  Noah 
VV  was  the  Tepresentative  of  the  Ancient  Church. 
We  will  now  proceed  to  investigate  the  Divine  Allegory 
farther,  in  relation  to  the  three  sons,  Shem,  Ham,  and 
Japheth  ;  for  they  and  their  wives  also  went  into  the  ark, 
and  were  saved. 

"These  three  represent  the  general  features  into  which 
the  church. of  Noah  divided  itsslf.  Churches  have  sons 
find  daughters  just  as  individuals,  and  just  as  nations 
tave.  Each  sect  is  as  a  child  to  the  church  ent  of  which 


72  SKEPTICISM  AND  DIVINE   HEVELATION. 

it  sprung.  Thus,  out  of  the  Church  of  Kome  sprang  the 
Church  of  England,  the  Lutheran  and  the  Calvinistic 
Churches.  From  the  Church  of  England  arose  the  Puri- 
tans, the  Methodists,  the  Baptists,  the  Independents,  and 
all  the  numerous  subdivisions  which,  as  children,  grand- 
children, and  great-grandchildren, have  originated  from  her, 

"  Shem  and  Japheth  appear  to  represent  those  portions 
of  the  Ancient  Church  who  were  actuated  by  that  charity 
which  hides  the  sins  of  others;  this  was  manifested  by 
their  conduct  in  covering  the  nakedness  of  their  father. 
Ham  is  clearly  the  representative  of  such  as  know  indeed 
what  is  right,  but  use  that  knowledge  rather  to  expose  the 
failings  of  others  than  to  hide  or  to  heal  them.  Their 
wives  represent  the  Affections  for  these  forms  of  religion. 

"The  vineyard  Noah  planted  and  cultivated  is  the 
Church,  where  the  heavenly  vines  of  a  true  faith  grow. 
His  getting  drunk  represents  the  members  of  the  Church 
giving  themselves  too  much  to  speculations  and  selfish 
vanities,  and  becoming  intoxicated  with  Pride. 

"Spiritual  drunkenness  is  more  terrible  than  natural; 
it  is  being  besotted  with  phantasies  and  errors,  inflated 
with  self-derived  intelligence.  When  a  person  neglects 
practical  religion,  and  forgets  the  humility  of  heart  which 
fills  us  with  distrust  of  ourselves,  he  is  on  the  highway  to 
soms  infatuation.  He  begins  soon  to  be  impatient  of 
contradiction,  goes  from  one  paradox  to  another,  until  no 
conceit  is  for  him  too  absurd.  Errors  of  the  most  fearful 
kind  creep  in.  He  will  have  all  the  world  to  be  occupied 
with  some  small  idea  of  his,  and  he  sees  his  one  thought 
everywhere,  and  in  everything,  and  thus  by  exaggerating 
what  may  be  true  in  itself  to  an  undue  proportion,  he  shuts 
out  other  truths,  and  makes  some  form  of  monstrous  fal- 
lacy exist  where  the  fair  proportion  of  a  complete  and 
well-formed  faith  ought  to  be.  Thus  comes  spiritual 
drunkenness.  When  we  are  in  this  state  we  are  never 
steady.  We  reel  to  and  fro  like  a  drunken  man.  We  roll 
from  phantasy  to  phantasy,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  our 


6HEM,  HAM,   AKD  JAPHETH.  73 

idol  though t,  until  we  lose  sight  of  the  great  essential  of 
religion ;  and  instead  of  charity  being  our  central  prin- 
ciple, self-love  and  self-conceit  are  seen.  Thus  was  it  with 
Noah.  He  was  drunken,  and  was  uncovered  within,  or  in 
the  midst  of  his  tent  (ver.  21). 

"  Ordinarily  the  selfish  are  at  great  pains  to  cover  them- 
selves with  appearances  and  pretexts.  We  have  an  in- 
stance of  this  in  the  case  of  Adam  and  Eve.  When  their 
eyes  were  open  to  their  real  fallen  state,  and  they  knew 
that  they  were  naked  (that  is,  were  conscious  of  their 
having  sunk  into  selfhood),  they  sewed  fig-leaves  together, 
and  made  themselves  aprons  (Gen.  iii.  7).  The  fig-leaves 
represent  the  lowest  forms  of  truth,  such  as  they  are  in  the 
letter  of  the  Word.  These  may  easily  be  arranged  so  as  to 
cover  any  state,  however  evil.  Every  false  religion  is  only 
an  immense  covering  of  the  nakedness  of  the  soul,  and  an 
elaborate  device  to  put  a  fair  face  upon  what  is  intrin- 
sically bad.  A  man  who  clings  to  solf  still  wishes  to  be 
saved,  and  he  will  hatch  or  favor  any  scheme  that  promises 
him  salvation  without  the  subjugation  of  self. 

"Ham  exposing  his  father's  nakedness  represents  the 
spirit  of  those  who  have  no  charity.  They  see  the  naked- 
ness of  others,  but  instead  of  aiding  them,  or  shielding 
them,  they  tell  it  to  their  brethren  without.  How  sad  it 
is  that  so  much  of  the  Ham  spirit  remains  to  the  present 
day.  It  has  been  said,  and  not  without  some  ground,  that 
dwelling  upon  the  failings  of  one  another  is  the  besetting 
sin  of  churches.  Yet  nothing  can  be  more  odious  or 
more  destructive  of  true  charity.  The  spirit  of  heaven 
leads  the  angels  to  attribute  good  to  every  one,  as  far  as 
possible,  and  if  there  be  evil,  to  excuse  it  as  much  as  can 
be.  The  spirit  of  evil  accuses,  attributes  an  evil  motive 
even  when  good  is  done,  and  magnifies  the  least  failing  so 
as  to  make  it  a  serious  fault.  Evil  spirits  are  called  the 
accuser  of  the  brethren.  '.The  accuser  of  the  brethren  is 
cast  down,  which  accused  them  before  our  God  day  and 
night '  (Rev.  xii.  10).  This  accusing  spirit  is  typified  by 
4 


74  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

Ham,  and  is  often  connected  with  a  fair  amount  of  learn- 
ing and  talent,  but,  alas!  with  the  desire  of  raising  itself  at 
the  expense  of  others.  Indisposed  to  advance  in  purity 
and  heavenly-mindedness,  those  who  are  represented  by 
Ham  cannot  bear  to  see  others  esteemed  better  than  them- 
selves, however  justly  it  is  their  due.  If  they  gaze  upon 
the  sun,  they  mark  only  his  spots.  Desiring  so  much  to 
detract  from  the  virtues  of  others,  it  is  a  perfect  jubilee  to 
them  to  detect  a  fault.  They  mark  it  well ;  they  see  that 
its  blackest  features  come  out ;  they  publish  it  far  and 
wide.  Alas!  at  the  same  time  they  know  not  how  much 
they  are  proclaiming  their  own  deficiency  in  that  highest 
of  Christum  graces-— angelic  charity/' 

Shem  and  Japheth  covering  their  father's  nakedness 
represents  such  as  in  a  spirit  of  charity  and  kindness 
desire  to  excuse  and  heal,  rather  than  to  accuse  and  pro- 
claim the  supposed  or  real  faults  of  others. 

"Let  us  ever  strive  and  pray  for  that  practical  religion 
and  sobermindedness  that  will  preserve  us  in  purity  and 
order;  lest,  in  the  solemn  words  of  Scripture,  the  ' shame 
of  our  nakedness  appear.' " 

XV. 
The  Flood  of  Waters. 

I  1ST  treating  of  the  true  signification  of  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis,  it  was  shown  that  by  the  Earth  is  signified, 
in  the  Divine  language,  the  human  mind ;  but  that  by  the 
Earth  is  denoted  the  earthy  or  natural  mind)  as  distin- 
guished from  the  spiritual  or  heavenly  wind,  which  lutlcr 
is  denoted  by  the  firmament  or  heaven  ;  and  in  each  decree 
of  the  mind,  there  are  the  two  faculties  or  Will  and  Under- 
standing, denoted  by  the  land  and  the  water,  and  the  heat 
and  the  light,  or  the  male  and  the  female : 

"Water  in  its  pure  and  unperverted  state  is  a  type  or 
symbol  of  Truth,  or  of  a  specific  kind  of  truth;  for  iron,  a 
sword,  a  rock,  light,  etc.,  etc.,  are  outward  images  of  Truth, 


THE   FLOOD   OF  WATERS.  75 

but  always  of  fixed  and  specific  kinds,  and  as  different  in 
their  character  as  are  their  respective  physical  correspon- 
dents. Thus  iron  denotes  Truth,  natural  truth,  rather 
in  the  abstract,  as  silver  denotes  its  relative  spiritual  truth 
in  the  same  ivay  ;  whilst  a  Sword  denotes  truth  in  a  more 
specific  sense,  or  as  the  sharp  and  powerful  truth  by  which 
falsehood  and  evil  are  assailed,  or  by  which  characters 
and  reputations  are  defended ;  so  a  rock  in  like  manner 
denotes  truth,  but  rather  those  postulates  and  principles 
which  serve  as  a  basis  for  an  argument,  or  on  which,  as  on 
a  foundation,  all  other  truths  repose.  Light,  also,  is 
truth,  or  that  mental  atmosphere  in  which  specific  truths 
become  visible  to  the  intellectual  sight.  It  is  the  medium 
for  rendering  truths  visible.  And  water  is  truth  of  still  a 
different  kind.  The  water  from  the  earth,  denotes  that 
natural  truth  which  is  for  the  purifying  and  cleansing  of 
the  natural  mind,  from  any  incidental  impurities  or  evils ; 
it  also  relieves  the  cravings  of  the  mental  appetite,  which 
thirsts  for  knowledge  and  information,  and  satisfies  it  with 
such  truths  as  are  adapted  to  its  state.  And  water  from 
the  atmosphere  above  the  earth  being  purer,  less  tainted 
with  the  dross  of  earth,  denotes  truth  of  a  more  elevated 
character,  i.  e.,  rational  or  intellectual ;  whilst  the  waters 
from  heaven,  in  like  manner,  denote  those  which  are  of  a 
yet  higher,  or  more  internal  character." — Rev.  G.  Fielcb 

The  Water  of  Life  signifies  divine  truths  from  the  Lord 
through  the  Word. 

But  the  waters  of  the  Flood  were  not  pure,  harmless 
and  useful  to  man ;  for  they  were  destructive,  therefore 
they  do  not  correspond  to  truths  but  to  falses,  or  to  those 
perversions  of  truths,  which,  with  their  attendant  evils, 
are  injurious  and  destructive  to  man's  spiritual  life ;  and 
tend  to  destroy  heavenly  life,  or  love  to  the  Lord  and  his 
neighbor  in  the  soul. 

"  The  account  of  the  Flood,"  says  the  Eev.  Dr.  Bayley, 
"is  such  as  to  impress  every  reader  of  the  Divine  Word. 
It  is  the  history  of  an  appalling  calamity.  It  was  a  fearful 


76  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

4 

consummation  of  great  evils.  But  what  was  its  nature  ? 
What  were  its  circumstances?  Was  it  of  water  or  of 
wickedness?  Those  who  have  not  reflected  much  on 
spiritual  things  are  startled  even  at  the  mention  of  a 
spiritual  flood,  although  the  thing  itself  is  not  at  all 
unknown  or  unfamiliar.  They  have  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed to  the  common  idea,  and  are  habitually  so  persuaded 
of  the  value  of  natural  life,  that  although  the  destruction 
of  virtue  and  truth  by  torrents  of  iniquity  is  far  more 
appalling  to  the  wise,  to  the  heedless  it  seems  of  little 
moment.  Not  so,  however,  is  it  regarded  in  the  Word  of 
God.  Throughout  its  divine  pages  a  spiritual  flood  is 
treated  of  as  the  soul's  most  awful  calamity.  And  we  may 
here  notice,  that  a  spiritual  assault  of  evil  and  error,  if 
undoubtedly  meant  by  the  term  flood,  in  a  very  large 
number  of  passages  in  the  Scriptures.  No  other  meaning 
can  be  attached  often  to  the  expression.  How  manifest 
this  is  in  the  Book  of  Psalms  every  one  must  have  noticed. 
Take,  as  a  striking  example,  the  sixty-ninth.  '  Save  me, 
0  God;  for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul.  I 
sink  in  deep  mire,  where  there  is  no  standing :  I  am  come 
into  deep  waters,  where  the  floods  overflow  me'  (ver.  1,  2), 
Again,  '  Deliver  me  out  of  the  mire,  and  let  me  not  sink : 
let  me  be  delivered  from  them  that  hate  me,  and  out  of 
the*  deep  waters.  Let  not  the  waterflood  overflow  me, 
neither  let  the  deep  swallow  me  up,  and  let  not  the  pit 
shut  her  mouth  upon  me'  (ver.  14,  15).  Here  there  is  a 
cry  which  nothing  but  the  agony  of  the  bitterest  tempta- 
tion could  produce.  Not  the  death  of  the  body,  but  the 
f3ar  of  the  more  terrible  death  of  the  soul,  could  awaken 
the  agonizing  expressions  here'uttered.  'Save  me,  0  God, 
for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul/  In  the  eigh- 
teenth Psalm  we  have  something  of  the  same  kind.  '  The 
sorrows  of  death  compassed  me,  and  the  floods  of  ungodly 
men  made  me  afraid.  The  sorrows  of  hell  compassed  me 
about;  the  snares  of  death  prevented  me '  (ver.  4,  5). 
And  a  little  further :  '  He  sent  from  above,  he  took  me, 


THE   FLOOD   OF   WATEBS.  77 

he  drew  me  out  of  strange  waters'  (ver.  16).  These  are 
evidently  entreaties  of  the  soul  under  bitter  trials,  which 
are  described  as  floods  of  water.  Such  language,  with 
such  signification,  is  very  frequent  in  the  Scriptures ;  and 
the  states  it  portrays  belong  to  the  experience  of  all, 
except  those  who  yield  themselves  willingly  to  sin,  and  go 
constantly  along  with  the  stream.  The  Psalmist  says 
again:  'For  this  shall  everyone  that  is  godly  pray  unto 
thee,  in  a  time  when  thou  mayest  be  found:  surtly  in  the 
floods  of  great  waters  they  shall  not  come  nigh  unto  him' 
(Ps.  xxxii.  G).  In  earthly  floods,  the  righteous  have  no 
peculiar  exemption.  They  are  objects,  like  all  others  of 
divine  care,  for  eternal  ends;  but  while  in  ordinary  life 
people  recognize  a  great  Providence  in  their  escapes  from 
danger,  a  wider  and  deeper  view  of  Providence  would 
reveal  the  truth  that  there  is  a  Divine  care  and  mercy 
over  those  drowned  at  sea,  or  dashed  to  pieces  on  a  rail- 
way, equally  with  those  who  rejoice  at  being  unhurt. 
'  The  Lord  is  good  to  till,  and  His  tender  mercies  are  over 
all  His  works/ 

"  The  end  of  a  church  is  frequently  in  the  Word  described 
as  accompanied  by  a  flood,  though  certainly  not  by  one  of 
outward  waters.  Where  the  end  of  the  Jewish  Church  is 
predicted  by  Isaiah,  it.  is  mentioned  as  being  accompanied 
by  the  fearful  circumstances  of  a  flood,  although  no  one 
supposes  that  such  a  catastrophe  outwardly  occurred. 

"The  prophet  Daniel  describes  the  end  of  the  Jewish 
Church,  which  was  completed  by  the  crucifixion  of  the 
Lord,  in  like  manner  as  attended  by  a  flood.  '  And  after 
threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not 
for  himself;  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come 
shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary;  and  tho  end 
thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood9  (chap.  ix.  26).  A  flood  of 
impieties,  falsehoods,  and  delusions,  there  was  then,  but  we 
are  not  aware  of  any  other.  Such  floods  are  adverted  to 
by  the  Lord  in  the  Gospel  as  assailing  every  one.  The 
good  come  out  of  them,  or  ride  over  them ;  the  wicked 


78  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

sink  and  perish.  'Whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of 
mine,  and  doetli  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man, 
which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock :  and  the  rain  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon 
that  house,  and  it  fell  not;  for  it  was  founded  upon  a 
rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man, 
which  built  his  house  upon  the  sands :  and  the  rain  dcv 
scended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat 
upon  that  house;  and  it  fell:  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it' 
(Matt.  vii.  24-27).  The  floods  alluded  to  in  both  portions 
of  this  divine  description  of  the  temptations  which  must 
be  endured  in  the  discipline  of  life,  are,  as  every  one  will 
admit,  those  influences  which  impel  the  soul  to  wrong;  those 
assaults  which  like  surging  waves  come  again  and  again  to 
try  the  principles  of  all,  and  under  which  such  as  trust  in 
their  own  opinions  only,  and  do  not  rest  on  the  Rock  of 
the  Divine  Word,  will  too  surely  fall.  Similar  floods  of 
falsehood,  it  will  be  admitted,  are  meant  when  it  is  said, 
on  the  birth  of  the  man-child,  as  mentioned  in  th^  Reve- 
lation, 'The  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  u-ater  as  a 
flood  after  the  woman,  that  he  might  cau^e  her  to  be 
carried  away  of  the  flood.  And  the  earth  helped  the 
woman ;  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and  swallowed 
up  the  flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his  mouth' 
(chap.  xii.  15,  16).  A  flood  from  the  mouth  of  the  serpent 
can  surely  only  be  understood  to  mean  a  torrent  of  erro- 
neous teachings,  destined,  if  possible,  to  discredit  the  New 
Church  meant  by  the  woman,  and  the  sublime  doctrine  she 
has  produced  for  the  world.  It  is,  then,  the  undoubted 
usage  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  to  represent,  under  the 
figure  of  a  flood,  the  streams  of  false  and  destructive  errors 
which  prevail  at  the  end  of  a  church,  with  the  utmost 
virulence,  and  also  at  some  period  in  the  career  of  cvnry 
man,  nre  permitted  to  test  the  sincerity  and  fixedness  of 
his  religion. 

"  There  are  three  sources  of  flood  mentioned :  the  '  form* 


THE   tfLOOD   OF   WATERS.  79 

tains  of  the  great  deep/  the  <  windows  of  heaven,'  and  '  the 
rain.'  In  times  of  spiritual  struggle  there  are  opened 
awful  deeps  within  man,  which  send  up  malignant,  loath- 
some persuasions,  scalding  hot,  which  would  hurry  the 
soul  to  ruin.  The  deep-rooted  selfishness  of  the  fallen 
heart  says,  'There  is  no  God'  (Ps.  xiv.  7).  The  wicked 
bravado  of  insolent  pride  says  within  his  heart  also,  *  There 
is  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes'  (Ps.  xxxvi.  1).  The 
horrid  cravings  of  sensuality  beg  for  their  indulgence  with 
importunate  yells,  and  the  poor  soul  knows  hardly  what  to 
do.  '  Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at  the  noise  of  thy  water- 
spouts: all  thy  waves  and  thv  billows  have  gone  over  me' 
(Ps.  xlii.  7).  The  windows  of  heaven  are  the  rational 
faculties  of  the  soul.  These  are  given  to  let  in  heavenly 
light.  In  an  orderly  state  they  are  indeed  the  windows  of 
heaven.  The  divine  light  of  truth  shines  freely  in.  They 
are  the  eyes  of  the  soul.  But  in  sore  temptation,  at  these 
same  windows,  false  reasonings  enter.  Infidel  spirits,  per- 
haps infidel  books  and  infidel  friends,  supply  waterspouts 
of  specious  conclusions,  all  at  the  time  seemingly  power- 
ful, weighty,  with  much  truth  in  them,  but  all  dishonoring 
to  God,  and  degrading  to  man.  Logic,  appearing  to  the 
sad  and  darkened  mind  irresistible,  seems  to  prove  evil 
good,  and  good  evil,  religion  to  be  only  superstition,  heaven 
a  dream,  hell  a  bugbear,  virtue  a  farce,  and  all  the  glorious 
order  of  the  universe  a  mere  fortuitous  jumble  of  atoms, 
brought  together  by  blind  chance,  or  equally  blino^  neces- 
sity. Added  to  this,  there  is  the  rain,  the  unceasing  pat- 
tering of  false  teaching  from  companions  and  associates, 
plying  the  spirit  day  by  day  with  the  scornful  word,  the 
vile  jest,  the  wild  jeer,  the  frequent  invitation,  the  con- 
stant persuasion  to  wrong-doing,  and  often  the  bitter 
denunciation  of  the  virtuous  as  hypocrites;  the  withering 
sarcasm,  which,  like  storms  of  hail,  comes  down  on  the 
wearied,  almost  despairing  soul  with  cruel  force ;  all  these 
make  a  storm — a  flood  of  overwhelming  force.  Happy  is 


80  SKEPTICISM  AND  DIVINE  REVELATION. 

he  who  has  a  heavenly  ark  at  hand,  in  which  he  can  take 
refuge  and  be  saved. 

"At  the  end  of  a  church,  the  flood  assumes  fearful 
power.  Books  of  an  irreligious  character  abound.  The 
church  has  first  perverted  the  truth,  and  taught  the  tra- 
ditions of  men*  for  the  commandments  of  God.  Puerile 
superstitions  are  common,  from  which  the  reason  of  man- 
kind revolts.  Morals  are  relaxed.  Keligious  teachers  are 
too  often  unworthy  of  their  name  and  office.  They  have 
devised  some  scheme  which  they  call  religion,  which  dims 
the  holy  light  of  that  truth  which  says,  'Do  justly,  love 
mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  thy  God/ 

"  Others  originate  a  philosophy  which  tries  to  make  the 
universe  a  self-acting  machine-r-a  science  very  learned  and 
very  laborious,  but  learned  and  laborious  about  trifles; 
dwelling  for  ever  on  forms  of  speech,  but  overlooking  the 
sense,  the  soul  of  speech ;  solemnly  and  devotedly  engaged 
on  worms  and  butterflies,  on  the  affinities  of  atoms,  and 
the  measurement  of  angles,  but  seldom  entering  upon 
those  aspirations  of  the  angelic  nature  within,  which  raise 
us  from  creeping  through  this  outer  life  the  denizens  of  a 
day,  to  soar  into  the  glorious  regions  of  light  and  love, 
which  give  us  affinities  with  the  holy  and  the  true  of  all 
ages,  and  enable  us  to  become  of  the  measure  of  a  man, 
that  is,  of  an  angel. 

"  Thus  was  it  in  the  middle  and  latter  half  of  the  last 
centuiy.  At  the  time  when  the  Lord  revealed  to  man, 
through  Swedenborg,  the  truths  of  the  New  Dispensation, 
iniquity  abounded.  Love  waxed  cold.  Faith  was  scarcely 
to  be  met  with  anywhere.  Works  of  amusement  were  dis- 
gustingly vicious.  From  royal  circles  down  to  the  poorest 
hovels,  vice  under  ten  thousand  forms  reigned  almost  un- 
challenged. Alison,  the  historian  of  that  period,  thus 
describes  it:  < Man's  connection  with  his  Maker  was 
broken  by  the  French  apostles  of  freedom:  for  they  de- 
clared there  was  no  God  in  whom  to  trust,  in  the  great 
struggle  for  liberty/  '  Human  immortality/  says  Chan- 


THE   FLOOD   OF   WATERS,  81 

ning,  '  that  truth  which  is  the  soul  of  all  greatness,  they 
derided.  In  their  philosophy  man  was  a  creature  of 
chance,  a  compound  of  matter,  a  worm  soon  to  rot  and 
perish  for  ever.  At  last  came  the  revolution,  with  its  dis- 
asters and  its  passions,  its  overthrow  of  thrones  and  altars, 
its  woes,  its  blood,  and  its  suffering/  In  the  general 
deluge,  thus  falling  upon  a  sinful  world,  the  mass  of  man- 
kind stiil  clung  to  their  former  vices.  They  were,  as  of 
old,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  when  the  waters 
burst  upon  them,  but  an  Ark  of  Salvation  had  been  pre- 
pared by  more  than  mortal  hands.  The  hand  on  the  wall 
had  unlocked  the  fountains  of  original  thought.  The 
Lord  at  such  seasons  reveals  New  Truths  from  heaven, 
and  Old  Truths  in  a  new  light.  These  serve  as  an  Ark 
of  safety  for  the  humbly  good,  who  can  then  say,  '  If  it 
had  not  been  the  Lord  who  was  on  our  side,  when  men 
rose  up  against  us :  then  they  had  swallowed  us  up  quick, 
when  their  wrath  was  kindled  against  us:  then  the  waters 
had  overwhelmed  us,  the  stream  had  gone  over  our  soul: 
then  the  proud  waters  had  gone  over  our  soul.  Blessed  be 
the  Lord,  who  hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  to  their  teeth' 
(Ps.  cxxiv.  2-6).  '  The  floods  have  lifted  up,  0  Lord,  the 
floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice ;  the  floods  lift  up  their 
waves.  The  Lord  on  high  is  mightier  than  the  noise  of 
many  waters,  yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea'" 
(Ps.  xciii.  3,  4). 

XVI. 

The  Ark. 

(WRITTEN  BY  THE  REY.   WM.   B.  HAYDEN.) 

"  A  FTER  having  seen  the  kind  of  Flood  which  devas- 
JL\-  tated  the  earth  in  those  early  days,  suffocating  the 
spiritual  life  of  man,  and  actually  sweeping  off  multitudes 
of  the  human  race  through  the  intensity  of  their  own  vices 
and  lusts,  it  will  be  the  more  easy  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  the  Ark  which  Noah  was  commanded  to  build, 


82  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE  KEVELATION. 

The  Ark  has  ever  been  a  type  of  salvation.  It  is  both  a 
type  of  what  man  has  to  do  for  himself,  in  the  way  of 
building  up  a  right  frame  of  spirit  and  a  holy  character, 
in  co-operation  with  the  Lord;  and  also  of  that  Divine 
care  and  protection  watching  over  the  believer,  shielding 
him  in  temptation,  and  bearing  him  safely  through  the 
storms  and  trials  of  life,  which  the  Lord  ever  vouchsafes 
to  his  faithful  followers. 

"  The  little  ark  of  bulrushes  was  employed  to  protect  and 
save  the  infant  Moses  from  the  suffocating  waters  of  the 
Nile.  The  Ark  which  Moses  afterwards  was  commanded  to 
construct,  according  to  the  heavenly  pattern  shown  him  in, 
holy  vision  in  the  Mount,  received  the  two  tables  of  the 
covenant,  and  after  being  placed  in  the  most  holy  place  iji 
the  Tabernacle,  became  thenceforward  the  type  of  Salva- 
tion to  the  Jews,  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  presence 
among  them.  And  when  the  Apostle  John,  in  Patmos, 
saw  the  Temple  of  the  Tabernacle  in  heaven  opened,  he 
saw  the  holy  Ark  of  the  Covenant  resting  there  in  its 
placo. 

"  The  Tabernacle  in  the  Wilderness  and  the  Temple  of 
Solomon  signified  similar  things.  We  know  with  what 
particularity  the  building  of  these  is  described  in  the 
inspired  narrative :  all  the  dimensions  of  the  former  being 
specially  commanded.  We  know  that  both  those  build- 
ings represented  the  Lord  our  Saviour  in  His  redeeming 
work,  wherein  the  Humanity  which  he  assumed  having 
been  glorified  by  Him,  became  ever  after  the  Temple  of 
the  Living  God  and  the  supreme  Ark  of  our  eternal 
salvation. 

"  In  His  parable  at  the  close  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
the  Saviour  tells  us  how  we  may  build  upon  the  rock  a 
house  unto  eternal  salvation.  It  is  by  faithfully  doing  the 
sayings  which  we  learn  of  Him,  exemplifying  them  in  the 
life.  If  we  do  not  obey  His  precepts,  we  build  on  the  sand, 
constructing  a  house  that  will  not  stand  against  the  flood — 
forming  a  character,  that  is,  which  cannot  resist  tempta- 


THE  ARK.  83 

tion,  but  which  will  inevitably  fall  and  be  swept  away 
whenever  assailed  from  without. 

"  When  therefore  we  consider  the  moral  necessities  of 
those  very  ancient  times — human  society  being  beaten 
upon  by  an  overrunning  flood  of  falsities  and  evils,  we  can 
readily  understand  the  kind  of  building  required  to  pro- 
tect the  good  men  of  that  time  from  being  overwhelmed 
and  swept  away  in  the  common  destruction.  It  was  some- 
thing to  take  care  of  their  moral  habits,  to  shield  their 
religious  character,  and  secure  their  spiritual  regeneration. 

"  Hence,  in  a  collective  sense,  the  Ark  there  meant  was 
the  church;  and  in  an  individual  sense,  each  man  or 
member  of  the  church. 

"In  providing  for  the  spiritual  safety  of  the  -small  rem- 
nant who  were  willing  to  remain  obedient  in  that  trying 
time,  the  Lord  gave  a  Revelation  of  such  truths  as  were 
needed  for  the  times;  enough  for  thorough  instruction 
and  guidance.  The  church,  colled  Noah,  '  was  a  preacher 
of  righteousness,'  and  therefore  taught  its  members  to 
bulli  on  tho  right  foundation.  Like  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, a3  well  as  all  the  earliest  oriental  peoples,  it 
expressed  its  sacred  truths  by  hieroglyphics.  And  the 
people  among  whom  they  taught  perfectly  understood 
them.  The  commandments  concerning  the  building  of 
the  Ark,  therefore,  were  to  them  a  continuous  parable, 
the  moral  of  which  they  clearly  saw  and  applied  to  heart. 
They  learned  them  as  commandments  applying  to  their 
repentance,  regeneration  and  spiritual  life,  and  heeded 
and  obeyed  them  accordingly.  They  saw  how  each  de- 
tailed instruction  applied  to  some  trait  of  thought,  feeling, 
or  action,  and  S3  became  a  living  divine  rule  for  the  regu- 
lation of  their  conduct.  As  they  looked  upon  the  picture, 
they  sa\v  it  as  a  divine  allegory,  and  beheld  in  it  an  im- 
pressive embodiment  or  programme  of  their  Wliole  Duty, 
both  to  God  and  man.  They  knew  that  in  obedience— 
in  entering  into  the -Ark  or  Covenant,  there  was  safety. 
While  to  remain  out  of  the  line  of  duty  in  that  corrupt 


84  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

time  was  to  be  out  of  the  ark,  which  was  sure  destruction 
to  their  souls.  They  needed  the  constant  instruction  and 
influence  of  a  divinely-founded  church. 

"As  the  curtains,  cedar  boards,  veils,  candlestick,  and 
gold  and  silver  things  of  the  Tabernacle^  each  represented 
some  holy  truth  or  good  connected  with  our  Saviour  and 
His  work  of  redeeming  grace,  so  each  thing  that  is  said  to 
have  entered  into  the  construction  of  the  Ark  by  Divine 
command,  as  the  gopher  wood,  the  mansions,  stories, 
door,  and  window,  represents  some  definite  truth  or  good 
connected  with  man's  regeneration  and  spiritual  life.  A 
lucid  exposition  of  their  meaning  may  be  found  in  the 
first  volumo  of  the  '  Arcana  Ccolestia/  by  Einanuel 
Swedenborg,  which  cannot  fail  to  throw  light  upon  the 
spiritual  experiences  of  the  reader  ;  and  so,  although 
intended  for  those  very  ancient  and  childlike  people,  may 
be  cf  great  practical  valuo  to-day  and  to  us. 

"Beasts  are  the  scriptural  typos  or  emblems  of  man's 
auctions,  wailo  the-  birds,  or  *  f 3\vl3  of  tno  air/  are 
typical  of  his  thoughts,  which  are  inoro  soarinj  and  irreg- 
ular in  their  flight. 

"  AYo  can  see  therefore  what  is  meant  by  the  clean  beasts 
and  clean  fowls  which  were  to  bo  gathered  into  the  Ark 
in  sevens.  They  are  the  purified  affections  and  purified 
thoughts  of  the  upright  or  regenerated  man.  And  again, 
we  can  see,  too,  that  whereas  unclean  beasts  and  unclean 
birds  were  likewise  gathered  in,  though  in  single  pairs, 
that  human  nature  then  was  as  it  is  now.  The  chnrcu 
had  its  imperfections.  Church  members  had  something 
of  the  natural  man  still  about  them,  their  lower  nature, 
the  'law  of  sin'  in  the  members.  Nevertheless,  as  the 
'clean  beasts'  were  to  predominate  in  the  Ark,  so  the 
spiritual  man,  or  spiritual  part  of  man,  was  to  bear  rule  in 
the  church  ;  and  its  unclean  things,  through  divine  grace, 
kept  in  subjection  and  subordination. 

"The  'door,'  the  'window,'  the  sending  forth  of  the 
raven  and  the  dove,  as  well  ai  every  circumstance  related, 


THE  ARK.  85 

when  understood  aright,  or  according  to  the  science  of 
correspondences,  conveys  its  beautiful  and  instructive 
lesson. 

"  Thus  far,  we  have  not  alluded  to  the  scientific  and 
other  difficulties  which  surround  the  literal  interpretation 
of  this  account  of  the  Ark,  nor  do  we  intend  to  enlarge 
upon  them.  They  come  more  and  more  into  view  as  the 
subject  is  carefully  studied.  They  strike  different  minds 
as  of  different  degrees  of  importance.  But  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  of  late,  in  the  full  blaze  of  all  that  modern 
research  has  disclosed  on  the  subject,  thoughtful  minds 
everywhere  are  sore  pressed  for  an  adequate  solution. 

"  The  incapacity  of  the  Ark,  from  its  size,  to  contain  all 
the  kinds  of  animals  and  birds,  with  food  for  a  year;  its 
want  of  light  and  ventilation;  the  wide  dispersion  of 
animals  over  the  globe,  their  variety  of  climate,  and  the 
impossibility  of  collecting  them  from  such  immense  dis- 
tances in  so  short  a  time ;  are  among  what,  to  most  minds, 
seem  to  be  the  insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a 
literal  belief  in  the  narrative. 

"  It  ought  therefore  to  be  a  satisfaction  to  every  rational, 
devout,  and  believing  mind,  that  the  history  is  found  to  be 
constructed  like  a  prophetic  writing;  divinely  inspired, 
but  giving  the  spiritual  history  of  those  times  in  a  parable 
or  allegory,  in  unison  with  the  universal  mode  of  writing 
in  those  very  ancient  or  hieroglyphical  ages." 


I  "Dear  reader,  in  the  foregoing  pages  concerning  the 
Flood  and  Ark,  we  have  wished  to  raise  your  views  from 
carnal  and  curious  speculations  to  spiritual  and  profitable 
ideas.  You  will  be  assailed  by  a  flood,  if  you  have  not 
hitherto  experienced  its  wild  waves.  False  sentiments  and 
deep  trials  await  nil  persons  at  some  periods  of  their  lives. 
The  Floods  will  come  in  upon  your  soul,  and  without  a 
proper  Ark,  you  must  spiritually  be  drowned.  Our  Lord, 
at  the  end  of  His  grand  sermon  on  the  mount,  taught 


86  blLEPIICISM   AKD   DIVIDE   KEVEJLATION. 

both  of  those  who  heard  His  words  and  did  them,  and  of 
thoss  who  did  them  not,  'the  rain  descended,  and  tne 
floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that 
house '  (Matt.  vii.  24-27). 

"  Have  you  pondered  upon  this  ?  Are  you  prepared 
with  your  ark  ?  Are  you  clear  in  your  own  mind  as  to 
what  you  are  to  expect,  and  what  you  are  to  do  ?  Eemeni- 
ber,  the  same  waves  which  overwhelmed  the  ungodly  bore 
up  the  ark.  The  streams  of  iniquity  will  surge  across 
your  path  and  all  around  you,  in  the  days  of  temptation  ; 
for  this  has  been  the  experience  of  the  servants  of  God  in 
every  age.  See  how  pathetically  the  Psalmist  describes 
the  experience  of  the  good  but  tried  ones  of  his  day: 
<  When  the  waves  of  death  compassed  me,  the  Floods  of 
ungodly  men  made  me  afraid :  the  sorrows  of  hell  com- 
passed me  about:  the  snares  of  death  prevented  me:  in 
my  distress  I  called  upon  the  Lord,  and  cried  to  my  God : 
and  He  did  hear  my  voice  out  of  His  temple,  and  my  cry 
did  enter  in  His  ears '  (2  Sam.  xxii.  5-7).  '  He  sent  from 
above,  He  drew  me  out  of  macy  waters ;  He  delivered  me 
from  my  strong  enemy,  and  from  them  that  hated  me; 
for  they  were  too  strong  for  me'  (ver.  17,  18).  Strange, 
wild,  false  states,  like  stormy  waters,  come  to  trouble  us 
again  and  again.  They  assail  our  belief  in  God,  in  His 
providence,  and  in  His  care.  They  pour  out  strange 
phantasies  and  blasphemies  against  revealed  religion,  and 
against  our  Saviour.  They  increase  for  a  time  in  virulence 
and  power.  They  rage,  and  howl,  and  roll  on,  strange  and 
dark,  like  the  awful  roll  of  waves  mountains  high.  But 
be  not  afraid.  Look  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  trust 
in  Him.  Look  up.  Have  faith,  and  persevere.  He  is  the 
Divine  man,  God  become  a  man,  to  be  known  to  you  and 
to  save  you.  Thus  it  is  written,  'A  man  shall  be  as  a 
hiding-place  from  the  wind,  and  a  covert  from  the  tem- 
pest; as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place,  as  a  shadow  of  a 
great  rock  in  a  weary  land '  (Isa.  xxxii.  2). 

"  Look  in  prayer  and  love  to  this  living,  loving,  man* 


THE  ARK.  87 

ifested  God.  He  will  teach  you  how  to  make  an  Ark.  He 
will  give  you  the  pattern,  the  directions,  and  the  mate- 
rials No  storms  can  destroy  those  who  trust  in  Him. 
They  will  seem  at  tiinas  to  be  in  great  danger.  The  awful 
roll  and  roar  of  the  storm  will  threaten  to  overwhelm 
them,  -but  they  are  really  quite  safe.  The  ark  of  the 
Divine  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  with  its  three  stories, 
will  never  give  way.  You  will  be  straitened  for  the  time, 
but  safe.  'The  Lord  sitteth  upon  the  Flood;  yea,  the 
Lord  sitteth  King  for  ever.  The  Lord  will  give  strength 
unto  His  people:  the  Lord  will  bless  His  people  with 
peace'  (Ps.  xxix.  10,  11).  '  For  this  shall  every  one  that  is 
godly  pray  unto  Thee,  in  a  time  when  Thou  raayest  be 
found :  surely  in  the  floods  of  great  waters  they  shall  not 
come  nigh  unto  him.  Thou  art  my  hiding-place :  Thou 
shalt  preserve  me  from  trouble :  Thou  shalt  compass  me 
about  with  songs  of  deliverance '  (Ps.  xxxii.  6,  7). 

"  How  many  thousands  around  us  do  we  see  engulphed 
in  horrid  streams  of  infidelity,  falsehood,  and  corruption, 
in  their  thousand  forms !  Let  us  point  all  to  the  Ark  of 
Safety.  The  three  grand  principles  of  lovo,  faith,  and 
obedience,  accepted  from  the  Lord  Jesus,  will  rescue  every 
one.  Let  us  then  love  Him  with  all  the  heart,  dear 
reader.  He  is  our  Creator,  Eedeemer,  and  Kegenerator. 
He  will  never  forsake  you,  but  love,  enlighten,  and  bless 
you.  Have  faith  in  Him.  You  are  in  His  world.  All  its 
laws  are  under  His  command,  and  in  His  good  time  the 
storms  will  cease,  the  winds  will  howl  no  more,  the  Flood 
will  no  more  threaten.  Obey  Sim,  and  you  will  soon  find 
life  improving  around  you.  You  will  come  into  enlight- 
ened freedom.  The  truth  will  make  you  free.  The  nar- 
row bounds  of  the  Ark,  which  once  contained  and  saved 
you,  but  yet  confined  you,  will  let  you  come  forth  in 
safety,  and  the  whole  world  will  be  a  grander  ark,  in  which 
you  will  be  perfectly  safe,  while  you  are  enjoying  its  bless- 
ings and  adoring  its  Maker." — Rev.  Dr.  Bayley. 


88  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

XVII. 
The  Tower  of  Babel. 

"And  they  said  one  to  another,  Go  to,  let  us  make  brick,  and 
burn  them  thoroughly.  And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime 
had  they  for  mortar.  And  they  said,  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city 
and  a  tower,  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven ;  and  let  us  make  us 
a  name,  lest  we  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth."— GEN.  xi.  3,  4. 

"  T~  IKE  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  Tower  of  Babel/'  says 
.1  J  the  Kev.  Dr.  Bay  ley,  "  has  been  a  puzzle  to  geogra- 
phers who  look  to  the  literal  sense  of  the  Bible  alone. 
They  have  sought  for  its  remains  in  different  regions,  but 
with  most  unsatisfactory  results. 

"  If  the  sacred  writings  had  only  represented  the  people 
as  designing  to  reach  heaven  by  a  tower,  it  would  have 
been  difficult  for  rational  belief;  but  when  it  proceeds  to 
state  that  the  Deity  came  down  and  felt  it  necessary  to 
stop  their  efforts  by  rendering  them  unintelligible  to  each 
other,  surely  it  must  induce  every  thoughtful  person  to 
say,  this  cannot  be  literal,  this  must  have  another  signifi- 
cation. 

"But,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  if  the  ages  of  theso 
early  personages  were  the  ages  of  individuals  (and  not,  as 
they  really  were,  descriptive  of  communities,  called  by 
single  names,  as  Israel  was  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years),  then  Noah,  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth,  must  have 
been  among  these  people.  They  had  come  down  from 
the  mighty  Ararat,  more  than  three  miles  high.  Could 
they  have  so  childish  a  conceit  as  that  they  could  reach 
heaven  by  a  brick  building,  in  a  plain  or  a  valley,  when 
they  had  not  found  it  in  the  regions  of  perpetual  snow? 
Surely,  if  its  forming  part  of  that  primeval  history  which 
we  have  seen,  in  relation  to  the  other  great  subjects,  can 
only  be  allegorically  or  spiritually  understood,  did  not 
lead  us  to  a  spiritual  sense,  the  inevitable  difficulties  of 


THE  TOWER  OF   BABEL.  89 

••* 

the  letter  in  this  instance  alone,  would  lead  us  to  look  for 
some  higher,  some  interior  meaning.  In  this  case,  as  in 
the  others  we  have  treated,  we  must  say  to  the  biblical 
student,  'Come  up  higher,,  friend.' 

"We  have  mentioned  that,  like  the  site  of  Eden,  the 
position  of  this  tower  has  greatly  perplexed  the  curious. 
It  is  like  Eden  with  its  Tree  of  Lives,  in  another  respect. 
Paradise  has  a  leading  position  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Bible,  and  we  find  it  again  in  the  last  book  (Rev.  ii.  7; 
xxii.  2).  It  is  thus  represented  as  the  blissful  state  from 
which  men  fell,  and  as  that  which,  by  regeneration,  they 
will  again  attain.  la  both,  a  spiritual  blessing,  not  a 
natural  place.  So  with  Babel,  it  is  here  as  the  symbol  of 
pride,  building  up  superstition  to  scale  heaven  in  its  own 
way.  It  is  the  same  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  There; 
Babylon  the  great  is  the  symbol  of  a  selfish  and  super- 
stitious church,  a  prostitution  of  religion,  by  mysterious 
doctrines  and  priestly  craft,  to  the  awful  purpose  of  lord- 
ing it  over  men's  souls,  as  well  as  their  bodies.*  No  one 
supposes  that  Babylon  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  means 
an  earthly  city ;  why  then  assign  that  meaning  to  Babel 
here  ? 

"  Let  us  turn  now  to  the  same  history  as  opened  by  the 
divine  science  of  correspondence,  or  analogy,  revealed 
through  Emanuel  Swedenborg.  The  whole  earth  is  said 
to  be  of  one  language,  and  of  one  speech.  The  earth,  as  in 
other  cases,  means  the  church,  especially  as  to  its  external 
principles,  worship,  and  practice.  The  earth  at  this  time 
is  said  to  have  had  one  language,  and  the  speech  one,  or 
as  the  latter  part  may  be  rendered,  the  words  united,  or 
made  one  (debarim  echadim) ;  because  the  church  is  rep- 
resented in  a  state  of  charity  and  harmony.  Where  love 
rules,  there  unity  prevails.  Even  if  doctrines  differ,  kind- 
ness can  find  sentiments  sufficiently  in  common  to  harmo- 
nize men's  minds.  When  love  animates  and  directs  them, 
the  tone  of  all  and  of  each  is  directed  to  the  production  of 
use.  Their  language  is  one,  and  their  words  are  one. 


90  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

• , 

"  But  we  are  informed  these  people  went  from  the  east 
and  they  found  a  plain  (or  valley)  in  the  land  of  Sliinar^ 
and  dwelt  there. 

"  The  east,  in  the  divine  language,  is  the  symbol  of  a 
state  of  love  to  the  Lord,  because,  in  such  a  state  cf  the 
heart,  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  the  Sun  of  the  soul, 
arises,  and  gives  its  beams  of  light  and  warmth  over  the 
mind.  Eden  is  said  to  be  eastward  (Gen.  ii.  8). 

"Valleys  are  the  symbols  of  the  lower  affections  of  the 
soul,  and  mountains  of  the  higher.  Hence  we  read  of  the 
•valley  of  bones'  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  1),  which  the  prophet 
addressed,  and  which  symbolized  the  natural  mind  full  of 
the  skeletons  of  religious  teaching,  long  uncared  for.  The 
Psalmist  blesses  those  who,  passing  through  the  valley  of 
Baca  (or  weeping),  make  it  a  well ;  or,  in  other  words, 
who  are  brought  into  troubles  and  sorrow  externally,  but 
make  these  the  means  of  opening  in  themselves  that  well 
of  salvation,  whose  bright  waters  sparkle  with  hope  and 
consolation — that  water  of  truth,  which  springs  up  for- 
ever, to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  faithful  soul  (John  vii. 
37,  38). 

"When  they  are  described  as  corning  into  a  little  broken 
valley,  in  the  lion  land,  and  dwelling  there,  it  is  to  inti- 
mate that  they  had  departed  from  their  first  love,  and 
sunk  into  low  and  carnal  states,  in  which  they  rejected  all 
real  high  principles,  all  real  goodness,  which  is  the  only 
real  greatness,  and  boldly  determined  to  make  a  religion 
for  themselves,  outwardly  of  the  same  appearance  as 
before,  but  inwardly  devoted  to  their  own  glorification, 
and  to  the  gratification  of  spiritual  pride.  This  is  to  leave 
the  glorious  mountains  of  the  east,  and  to  dwell  in  a  little 
broken  valley  of  our  own,  in  the  land  of  the  lions,  or 
Shinar.  'My  soul  is  among  lions/  David  said,  'and  I  lie 
among  them  that  arc  set  on  fire '  (Ps.  Ivii.  4). 

"'Let  us  build  a  city  and  tower,  whose  top  may  reach 
to  heaven,  and  make  us  a  name.'  What  a  burst  of  arro- 
gance and  self-sufficiency  is  here  I  '  Let  us  build  a  city/ 


THE  TOWEH   OF   BABEL.  91 

let  us  construct  a  system  of  doctrine,  let  us  make  a  church. 
The  true  church  of  the  Lord  is  a  city  which  comes  down 
from  heaven,  'the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem'  (Heb.  xii.  22).  'Let  us  build  a  city/  let  us 
contrive  a  scheme,  say  they,  which  shall  profess  to  honor 
God  and  save  souls,  but  which  shall  really  'make  us  a 
1  name.'  Let  us  seek  influence  with  all  our  might.  Let  us 
teach  men  that  we  are  the  mediators  between  them  and 
God.  We  will  induce  the  Deity  to  be  propitious.  We 
will  forgive  them  their  sins.  We  will  teach  them  a  way 
to  be  saved,  although  they  cling  to  evil  and  despise  such 
of  the  divine  commands  as  interfere  with  their  sins. 

u  Let  us  now  mark  the  materials  which  theso  Babel- 
builders  used.  'And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime 
had  they  for  mortar.'  Stone,  as  a  natural  production, 
affording  a  strong  foundation,  and  the  material  for  firm 
and  solid  walls,  corresponds  to  truth ;  brick,  as  a  human 
manufacture,  and  a  substitute  for  stone,  is  the  symbol  of 
opinions  fabricated  by  man's  contrivance. 

"  TEUTHS  will  not  serve  the  purpose  of  Babel-builders,  SD 
they  make  materials  of  their  own  ;  brick  have  they  for  stone. 

"The  false  principles  engendered  by  spiritual  pride, 
which  elevate  man  in  the  place  of  God,  and  substitute 
unintelligible  ceremony  in  worship  instead  of  enlightened 
adoration,  are  aptly  represented  by  brick  which  the 
builders  make  themselves.  Wliere,  for  instance,  could 
the  paraphernalia  of  superstitious  religion — consecrated 
ground,  holy  water,  sainted  bones,  etc.,  the  worship  of  dead 
and  living  men,  high-sounding  names — His  Holiness, 
Father  in  God,  Eight  Eeverend  Father  in  God,  and  such- 
like pompous  titles  applied  to  mortals  quite  as  frail  and 
feeble  as  others,  be  obtained,  unless  they  had  made  them 
themselves  ?  The  stones  of  divine  truth  would  not  do,  and 
so  they  made  brick.  The  whole  of  the  persuasions  which 
tend  to  the  exaltation  of  priestly  pride,  are  bricks  of 
human  contrivance  substituted  for  the  stones  of  a  true 
spiritual  building. 


92  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   HEVELATION. 

"They  said  also,  'Let  us  burn  them  thoroughly/  Fire 
is  the  symbol  of  ardent  affection.  Heavenly  fire  is  the 
affection  to.  do  good  (Ps.  civ.  4).  The  fire  of  hell  is  the 
affection  or  lust  for  doing  evil  (Isa.  ix.  18 ;  Jas.  iii.  G). 
The  fire  which  burned  these  bricks  was  the  intense  desire 
for  power  over  men's  souls,  which  produces  zeal  for  self, 
not  for  God.  It  is  amazing  with  what  ardor  the  lust  of 
spiritual  dominion  will  work.  It  will  compass  sea  and 
land  to  make  a  proselyte.  It  will  both  do  and  suffer  much 
more  than  true  religion  requires,  to  accomplish  its  insane 
ends. 

"  When  truths  are  the  stones,  the  love  of  truth  is  the 
cement  which  unites  them  firmly  together.  Truths  with- 
out love  are  like  stones  without  mortar,  loose  and  devoid 
of  strength.  However  much  a  man  knows,  if  he  lacks  the 
love  of  the  truth,  he  has  no  saving  strength  in  the  sight 
of  Heaven.  But  the  uniting  principle  among  Babel- 
builders  is  merely  the  lust  of  being  worshipped  by  others, 
and  is  therefore  described  by  slime.  Nothing  is  so  unclean 
as  the  love  of  self  in  its  varied  forms.  It  spurns  the  chaste 
delights  of  marriage,  and  longs  to  wallow  in  the  impurities 
of  adultery.  Out  of  the  evil  heart  comes  all  that  really 
defiles  a  man.  His  dreams  even  reek  with  defilement. 
From  such  a  state  the  Psalmist  rejoiced  to  be  delivered : 
'  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit,  out  of  the 
miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  established  my 
goings'  (Ps.  xl.  2).  The  wall,  like  the  tower,  is  a  system 
of  falsehood ;  the  untempered  mortar,  like  the  slime,  means 
the  impure  affections  which  sustain  it. 

"How  diligently  the  laborers  work  at  their  tower! 
They  teach,  they  preach,  they  indoctrinate,  they  counsel. 
They  parade  their  mysterious  powers,  they  decry  reason, 
they  insinuate  that  science  is  of  very  doubtful  character. 
Religion  is  an  awful  mystery,  and  they  are  its  only  ex- 
pounders. The  people  would  certainly  destroy  themselves, 
if  they  ventured  to  investigate  and  decide  for  themselves. 
Pray  and  pay,  are  enough  for  the  people.  Happily,  how- 


THE   TOWER   OF   BABEL.  93 

ever,  He  who  keepeth  Israel  never  sleeps,  and  He  comes 
down  to  see  the  city  and  the  tower. 

"  The  Lord  is  said  to  see,  when  He  makes  it  manifest  to 
His  creatures  that  He  sees.  Undoubtedly,  He  who  fills 
heaven  and  earth  is  present  everywhere,  and  knows  al) 
things.  But,  when  He  manifests  Himself  to  man,  He 
seems  to  come  down  to  him,  and  when  He  shows  that  He 
knows,  it  appears  to  us  that  He  then  first  observes.  It  is 
in  this  way  the  Lord  is  said  to  have  come  down  to  see  the 
city  and  the  tower  which  the  children  of  men  builded. 

"He  is  divinely  careful  of  human  freedom  and  human 
progress.  And  when  a  system,  fraught  with  peril  to  both, 
has  proceeded  so  far  as  fully  to  unfold  its  noxious  charac- 
ter, then  is  the  time  for  infinite  goodness  to  act.  Midnight 
has  come  over  the  mind,  and  it  is  time  to  commence  the 
morning.  Man's  necessity  is  God's  opportunity.  The 
trumpet  of  judgment  sounds.  God  reveals  His  light  to 
some  minds  capable  of  better  things,  and  His  truth  flashes 
conviction.  The  tower  of  superstition  totters.  Men  feel 
that  God  is  there.  He  has  come  down  to  their  states,  and 
they  see,  as  it  were,  His  lightning  striking  their  lofty 
structures,  and  hurling  them  to  the  dust. 

"  The  confounding  of  the  languages  represents  the  dif- 
ferent doctrines  which  arise  when  a  spiritual  despotism  is 
exposed  and  overthrown.  The  system  in  which  men  have 
apathetically  trusted,  having  been  shown  to  be  fictitious, 
and  hurled  down,  its  former  adherents  know  scarcely  what 
to  do.  They  are  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  and 
those  resources  are  most  scanty.  *  They  have  been  trained 
in  lies,  and  the  rational  faculty,  the  true  servant  and  repre- 
sentative of  divine  truth  in  the  soul,  has  been  systemati- 
cally neglected,  or  crushed.  The  unregenerate  heart,  the 
most  fruitful  source  of  malignant  error,  has  been  unpuri- 
fied  by  the  sacred  streams  of  heavenly  wisdom,  and  it 
mixes  itself  largely  in  the  general  turmoil,  and  the  result 
is  confusion,  which  the  word  Babel  in  Hebrew  means. 
They  do  not  understand  each  other's  doctrines,  they  op- 


94  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

pose  and  fly  from  each  other.  They  are  no  longer  united 
for  despotism,  nor  are  they  united  at  all.  The  tyranny  of 
the  priesthood  is  broken;  and  innumerable  sects  are 
formed.  In  the  turmoil  of  the  universal  fray,  different 
nations  seize  upon  different  dogmas,  and  form  them  into 
separate  churches.  The  wildest  'notions  are  taken  up, 
some  by  one  party,  some  by  another.  The  whole  structure 
is  broken  down  into  fragments,  each  land  holding  a  lan- 
guage, a  doctrine  of  its  own,  and  excommunicating  the 
others.  Such  was  the  Babel  of  modern  times,  and  such 
was  that  of  the  ancients,  represented  in  the  Babel  before 
us." 

XVIII. 
Sun  Worship  and  Idolatry. 

rFlHE  origin  of  Idolatry  has  been  a  mystery,  but  the 
-L  writings  of  Swedenborg  have  thrown  a  flood  of  light 
upon  this  subject.  The  science  of  correspondences  be- 
tween natural  and  spiritual  things,  revealed  by  the  Lord 
therein,  is  the  key  which  unlocks  the  mysteries  not  only 
of  the  Word,  but  also  of  the  World,  enabling  us  to  read  its 
past  history  and  view  its  present  state  in  a  new  light.  Let 
us  remember,  then,  that  this  science  was  once  understood 
by  all  men  who  were  living  upon  the  earth,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  remains  of  it  must  be  found  everywhere  among 
all  nations  now,  either  handed  down  by  tradition,  or  em- 
bodied in  their  religious  ideas,  and  even  in  their  e very-day 
language. 

Swedenborg,  in  his  work  on  "  The  Sacred  Scriptures," 
says :  "  The  reason  why  the  idolatries  of  the  Gentiles  of 
old  took  their  rise  from  the  science  of  correspondences 
was  because  all  things  that  appear  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
have  correspondence;  consequently,  not  only  trees  and 
vegetables,  but  also  beasts  and  birds  of  every  kind,  with 
fishes  and  all  other  things.  The  ancients,  who  were  versed 
in  the  science  of  correspondences,  made  themselves  images 


WORSHIP  AND   IDOLATRY.  95 

which  corresponded  with  heavenly  things,  and  were  greatly 
delighted  with  them  by  reason  of  their  signification,  and 
because  they  could  discern  in  them  what  related  to  heaven 
and  the  church.  They  therefore  placed  those  images  not 
only  in  their  temples,  but  also  in  their  houses ;  not  with 
any  intention  to  worship  them,  but  to  serve  as  means  of 
recollecting  the  heavenly  things  signified  by  them.  Hence 
in  Egypt,  and  in  other  places,  they  made  images  of  calves, 
oxen  and  serpents,  and  also  ,of  children,  old  men,  and  vir- 
gins ;  because  calves  and  oxen  signified  the  affections  and 
powers  of  the  natural  man/'  etc. 

"  Succeeding  ages,  when  the  science  of  correspondences 
was  obliterated,  began  to  adore  as  holy,  and  at  length  to 
worship  as  deities,  the  images  and  resemblances  set  up  by 
their  forefathers,  because  they  found  them  in  and  about 
their  temples." — Sac.  Scr.  (p.  23.) 

"How  deep,  how  full  of  wonder,"  exclaims  the  Eev. 
George  Field,  "  are  our  feelings,  when  we  contemplate  the 
past;  in  passing  with  telescopic  vision  through  the  inter- 
mediate darkness,  to  see  presented  to  our  astonished  gaze 
the  glorious  pages  of  a  remote  antiquity;  to  behold  again 
that  wisdom  so  long  lost  to  man,  and  esteemed  by  the 
ancients  as  the  science  of  all  sciences,  of  which  the  '  key 
of  knowledge'  opens  and  unfolds  arcana  which  have  been 
sealed  for  ages ;  removes  the  veil  of  Isis,  and  passing  the 
Sphynxes,  enters  the  portals  of  the  temple,  over  which 
may  now  be  seen  the  changed  inscription,  '  Nunc  licet9 
(now  it  is  allowable). 

"Without  this  golden  key,  in  vain  are  the  memories  of 
the  past,  or  the  records  and  traditions  of  primeval  ages ; 
for  though  we  possessed  all  the  writings  of  antiquity,  we 
could  not  read  them." 

Speaking  of  the  constellations  of  the  zodiac  he  says : 

"Any  one  might  know  that  there  are  not  literally  any 
such  images  in  the  heavens  as  are  marked  on  the  celestial 
globe ;  neither  do  the  stars  really,  by  any  effort  of  imagi- 
nation,  look  any  more  like  the  forms  in  which  they  are 


96  SKEPTICISM   ANE    DIVINE   REVELATION. 

pictured,  than  they  do  like  the  letters  which  spell  their 
names.  Originally  the  natural  heavens  were  no  more 
thought  of  than  we  think  of  the  state  of  the  atmosphere 
when  we  tell  an  angry  man  that  he  is  too  warm,  and 
had  better  keep  cool;  or  than  we  think  of  a  man's  feet., 
when  we  advise  him  to  walk  in  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
Natural  images  were  borrowed  as  symbolical  of  spiritual 
ideas,  from  their  correspondences,  not  because  we  think 
about,  or  mean  the  letters  or  types,  but  those  things 
which  the  types  are  used  to  represent.  But  in  process  of 
time,  as  men  descended  into  more  exterior  states,  this 
knowledge  began  to  decline,  and  at  last,  instead  of  seeing 
it  intuitively,  it  was  studied  as  a  science  ;  and  thus,  even- 
tually, instead  of  the  stars  and  constellations  being  used  as 
pure  symbols,  men  thought  that  they  were  literally  meant. 
Thus  the  stars  (which  correspond  to  the  knowledge  of 
goodness  and  truth)  were  invested  with  a  zone,  or  golden 
girdle,  symbolical  of  the  band  of  charity  which  united 
heavenly  with  earthly  sciences,  in  the  harmony  of  uni- 
versal truth  and  goodness,  the  music  of  the  spheres ;  and 
in  their  relation  to  heavenly  knowledges  it  is  that, 

'  In  Reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice. '  " 

SUK    WOKSHIP. 

"He  who  looks,"  says  Swedenborg,  "at  things  internal, 
from  those  that  are  external,  when  he  views  the  heavens 
or  sky,  does  not  think  at  all  of  the  starry  heaven,  but  of 
the  angelic  heaven;  when  he  beholds  the  Sun,  he  does 
not  think  of  the  Sun,  but  of  the  Lord,  as  being  the  Sun 
of  Heaven.  *  *  *  *  The  reason  why  all  and  single 
things  in  the  heavens  or  sky,  and  on  the  earth,  are  repre- 
sentative, is  because  they  existed,  and  do  continually 
exist,  that  is  subsist,  from  an  influx  of  the  Lord  through 
heaven."  Consequently,  "  there  is  not  a  single  object 
existing  in  the  sky  or  in  the  earth,  which  is  beautiful  and 


SUN  WORSHIP  AND   IDOLATRY.  97 

agreeable,  but  what  is  in  some  way  representative  of  the 
Lord's  kingdom/'  (A.  C.  1807.) 

The  natural  sun  corresponds  to  the  Lord,  the  spiritual 
sun;  its  light  and  heat,  correspond  to  the  divine  wisdom 
and  love  which  are  spiritual  light  and  heat  to  our  souls. 
The  natural  sun  has  been  created  from  the  spiritual  sun, 
and  there  is  a  constant  influx  into  it  from  the  latter, 
which  sustains  its  natural  light  and  heat ;  therefore  the 
sun's  rays  are  perpetual — forever.  It  will  never  fail. 

"  The  SUN,  as  we  have  seen,  is  representatively  an  image 
of  the  LOED,  and  is  not  only  the  centre,  but,  as  it  were, 
the  creator,  sustainer,  vivifier  and  illuminator  of  its  sys- 
tem: thus  the  sun  is,  in  its  degree  to  the  earth,  what  the 
Lord  is  to  man.  The  heat  and  light  proceeding  from  the 
Sun,  are  representative  of  the  Love  and  Wisdom  emanat- 
ing from  the  Lord,  the  Sun  of  the  heavenly  world.  As 
'  God  is  a  consuming  fire/  and  the  fountain  of  light,  so  is 
the  Sun  in  Nature.  No  one  can  see  the  face  of  Jehovah 
in  His  unveiled  glory,  without  being  consumed,,  or  perish- 
ing in  the  intensity  of  that  Infinite  and  uncreated  celestial 
heat  and  light;  so  neither  can  any  one  behold  the  face  of 
the  Sun  of  nature,  but  through  an  attempering  medium; 
and  then  it  is  only  in  its  outward  brightness  that  the  Sun 
is  seen,  which  is  but  the  glory  of  its  radiant  orb.  So  to 
angelic  vision,  the  Lord  appears,  not  as  He  is  in  Himself, 
but  in  His  effluent  glory;  so  ardent  is  the  radiance  of  the 
Divine  Love  and  Wisdom  that  its  proximate  sphere,  or 
first  proceeding  emanation  from  the  Lord,  appears  as  a 
Sun,  as  the  Sun  shining  in  His  strength." — Rev.  G.  Field. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Ancients  did  not  worship  the 
Sun,  and  only  bowed  to  the  natural  as  representing  the 
spiritual,  and  through  it  worshipped  the  Lord.  Nor  has 
this  idea  fully  perished  at  this  day.  The  most  sacred  oath 
of  the  Mexican  commenced  with,  "I  swear  by  the  life  of 
the  Sun."  The  Indian  tribes  of  North  America  paid  their 
religious  devotions  to  "the  great,  beneficent,  supreme, 
holy,  spirit  of  FIRE"  (the  "Great  Sun"),  which,  says  Mr. 
5 


98  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

Schoolcraft,  they  regard  "as  the  mysterious  element  of 
the  universe,  typifying  Divinity." 

And  Prescott,  in  his  "  Conquest  of  Peru,"  thus  describes 
the  great  Temple  of  the  Sun :  "  The  most  renowned  of  the 
Peruvian  temples,  the  pride  of  the  capital,  and  the  wonder 
of  the  empire,  was  at  Cuzco,  where,  under  the  munificence 
of  successive  sovereigns,  it  had  become  so  enriched  that  it 
received  the  name  of  Coricancha,  or  the  l  Place  of  Gold.' 
It  consisted  of  a  principal  building,  and  several  chapels 
and  inferior  edifices,  covering  a  large  extent  of  ground  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  and  completely  encompassed  by  a 
wall,  which,  with  the  edifices,  was  all  constructed  of  stone. 
*  *  *  The  interior  was  literally  a  mine  of  gold.  On 
the  western  wall  was  emblazoned  a  representation  of  the 
Deity,  consisting  of  a  human  countenance,  looking  forth 
from  amidst  innumerable  rays  of  light,  which  emanate 
from  it  in  every  direction,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Sun 
is  often  personified  with  us." 

The  wise  men  from  the  East  who  followed  the  Star, 
and  visited  the  new-born  child  at  Bethlehem,  were,  with- 
out much  doubt,  from  among  those  denominated  Sun- 
worshippers.  But  did  they  worship  the  material  sun  ? 
According  to  Herodotus,  the  Persians,  who  pre-eminently 
are  supposed  to  have  been  Sun-worshippers,  worshipped  on 
the  tops  of  mountains,  and 'were  not  permitted  to  pray  for 
themselves  alone,  but  were  bound  to  offer  their  supplica- 
tions for  all  others,  but  especially  for  the  Persians  and 
their  king.  Herodotus  continues :  "  When  the  person 
who  offers  the  sacrifice  has  cut  the  victim  into  small 
pieces,  and  boiled  the  flesh,  he  lays  it  on  a  bed  of  tender 
grass,  especially  on  trefoil,  and  after  all  things  are  dis- 
posed, one  of  their  Magi,  or  wise  men,  standing  up,  sings 
an  ode  addressed  to  Deity;  which  last  ceremony  they  con- 
sider as  an  indispensable  rite  of  their  worship,  and  it  is 
never  omitted."  Herodotus  says  they  sacrificed  to  the 
Sun.  "It  is  but  fair  to  state  this,"  says  a  recent  writer, 
"because,  in  the  letter,  it  affords  some  ground  for  the 


WORSHIP   AKD   IDOLATRY.  99 

assertion  that  they  adored  material  objects;  but  other 
proof  will  be  given— and  is  also  fairly  deducible  from  the 
language  of  Herodotus,  as  expressed  above — that  the  Per- 
sians, from  the  highest  point  of  their  mountain-worship, 
elevated  their  thoughts  and  their  affections,  or  prayers,  to 
the  Only  God ;  that  they  looked  upward  through  the  SUB 
of  earth,  as  the  highest  created  type  of  the  Sun  of  heaven; 
thus  to  their  Creator  and  Preserver,  to  whom  the  wise  and 
holy  men  who  conducted  the  worship,  directly  addressed 
their  worship  and  sung  their  ode." 

Joseph  von  Hammer,  one  of  the  first  Orientalists  of  our 
later  times,  declares  that  the  ancient  Persians  were  neither 
Sun  nor  Fire-worshippers,  but  believers  and  adorers  of  a 
Supreme  Being ;  that  they  regarded  the  sun  of  this  world 
merely  as  the  highest  emblem  of  the  Divinity;  through 
which  emblem,  or  type,  they  addressed  their  devotions  to 
the  God  of  Heaven,  in  whom  they  believed,  and  in  whom 
they  trusted. 

Jacob  Bryant,  the  author  of  a  work  entitled  "  A  New 
System,  or  an  Analysis  of  Ancient  Mythology,"  first  pub- 
lished in  1774-1776,  treats  very  fully  of  the  religious 
character  of  the  ancient  nations ;  and  some  of  his  declara- 
tions go  far  to  establish  the  belief,  which  we  cannot  avoid 
considering  as  most  just,  that  the  religion  taught  by  the 
Zoroasters  and  accepted  by  the  Persians  and  Parsees  was 
neither  materialistic  nor  idolatrous,  but  that  it  incul- 
cated, for  thousands  of  years,  the  belief  in  a  Supreme 
Being,  the  Source  of  life  and  Author  of  all  things  made  or 
created.  There  are  strong  reasons  for  the  belief  that  the 
Persians  were  the  last  people  who  became  idolatrous.  Mr. 
Bryant,  in  his  "  immortal  work,"  quotes  Otanas  as  saying 
that  there  had  been  a  true  notion  of  the  Deity  transmitted 
by  Zoroaster,  and  maintained  by  the  Magi,  after  the  rest 
of  the  world  had  become  shrouded  in  moral  darkness. 

The  more  fully  we  come  to  understand  and  carefully 
examine  the  religions  of  all  nations,  the  more  evident  it  is 
that  in  them  we  have  the  remains  of  a  once  true  religion — 


100  bKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

a  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  of  the  life  which  leads  to 
happiness  and  heaven — and  the  remains  of  a"  once  univer- 
sal science,  or  that  of  the  correspondence  between  natural 
and  spiritual  things,  in  accordance  with  which  Divine 
revelations  have  heen  given  to  man.  The  men  of  the 
Golden  Age,  or  of  the  Most  Ancient  or  Adamic  Church, 
which  existed  before  the  fall  and  deluge  of  falses  and  evils, 
as  we  have  heretofore  stated,  according  to  the  revelations 
made  through  Swedenborg,  had  direct  revelation  from  the 
Lord,  open  vision  into  the  spiritual  world,  and  perceived 
the  correspondence  between  spiritual  and  natural  things. 
All  natural  objects  represented  things  pertaining  to  the 
inind  of  man,  and  had  a  spiritual  signification,  and  mani- 
fested the  wisdom  and  love  of  their  Creator.  Nor  has  this 
knowledge  entirely  perished  at  this  day  from  the  language 
and  perceptions  of  men,  however  little  they  may  realize  its 
wonderful  significance. 

A  distinct  moral  character  is  possessed  by  every  animal. 
"  So  distinct  is  this,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  that  their  very 
names  have  become  expressive  of  their  characters,  and  are 
used  as  adjectives.  Lion-like,  fox-like,  bearish,  lamb-like, 
wolfish,  dogged,  suggest  distinct  ideas  from  the  distinct 
characteristic  of  each  of  these  animals.  We  use  such 
adjectives  to  describe  the  characters  of  men,  because  we 
perceive  the  inevitable  analogy  existing  between  animals 
and  men.  Man's  moral  nature  is  seen  to  include  all  these 
dispositions ;  and  as  any  one  of  them  acquires  an  undue 
predominance,  so  the  man  is  described.  The  animals  are 
each  a  distinct  incarnation  of  one  human  quality.  Man  is 
the  embodiment  of  all  animal  qualities  and  characteristics. 
He  is  the  comprehensive  aggregate  of  all.  They  are  the 
incarnated  integers.  Ferocity,  possible  to  man,  is  the  very 
nature  of  the  wolf.  Cunning,  possible  to  man,  is  the  very 
nature  of  the  fox.  Innocence,  possible  to  man,  is  the  very 
nature  of  the  lamb.  Imitation,  possible  to  man,  is  the 
very  nature  of  the  monkey.  Poetry  has  made  such  analo- 
gies familiar  to  every  one,  and  universal  perception  has 


SUK    WOKSHJP   AKD   IJ^QLATRY.  Wl 

confirmed  and  adopted  them.  Birds  have,  in  like  manner, 
furnished  similar  analogies  to  man's  mental  nature.  All 
the  world  has  seen  the  analogy  between  keen  perception 
and  the  hawk,  vain-show  and  the  peacock,  soaring  intellect 
and  the  eagle ;  nor  have  men  been  slow  to  admit  the  ex- 
quisite correspondence  of  turtle-doves,  nor  the  image  of 
selfish  shrewdness  in  the  cuckoo.  Languages  have  been 
formed  of,  and  records  conveyed  by,  such  analogies,  and 
the  wisdom  of  centuries  has  been  communicated  by  such 
inscriptions.  Such  a  doctrine  of  analogy  it  is,  that  alone 
explains  the  origin,  or  accounts  for  the  dissemination,  of 
divination,  magic,  witchcraft,  astrology,  the  prevalence  of 
charms  or  the  universality  of  sacrifices. 

"The  analogy  between  our  natural  senses  and  spiritual 
faculties  has  been  long  observed.  We  see  truth,  we  hear 
laws,  we  weigh  arguments,  we  have  mental  tastes.  Truth 
is  mental  light,  love  is  spiritual  heat.  We  are  inflamed 
with  passion  and  chilled  by  antipathy,  we  warm  to  a  sub- 
ject, and  we  freeze  towards  individuals.  Natural  qualities 
are  analogous  to  spiritual  qualities.  Eeproaehcs  are  stab- 
ling, couched  in  cutting  words,  pangs  are  litter,  and  op- 
pression is  grinding ;  feelings  are  lacerated  by  stinging 
sarcasms,  and  we  are  melted  into  tenderness  by  soft  com- 
passion."— Rev.  John  Hyde. 

But  with  the  decline  of  our  race,  when  men  began  to 
love  themselves  supremely  instead  of  the  Lord  and  their 
neighbor,  the  perception  of  truth  and  of  correspond- 
ences faded  gradually;  then  especially,  during  the  days 
of  the  church  of  Noah,  the  wise  men  began,  for  the  sake  of 
preserving  a  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  true  ideas  concerning 
Him,  and  of  a  true  life,  to  study  and  store  up  in  their 
memories  the  spiritual  significations  of  natural  things,  and 
to  teach  them  to  their  children,  and  to  write  them  down  ; 
and  finally  to  form  images  to  remind  them  of  spiritual 
things,  not  with  any  thought  of  worshipping  such  images, 
for  such  worship  only  resulted  when  the  true  spiritual 
signification  wua  lost.  Thus  has  originated  sun-worship 


10$,          ,  ,  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 


arid' all  forms  of  Idolatry,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  they 
are  so  universal.  The  mysteries,  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
Masonry  have  had  a  similar  origin.  It  was  long  anterior  to 
the  days  of  Solomon  that  wise  men  cultivated  a  knowledge 
of  correspondences,  and  of  the  one  God,  and  a  good  life; 
and  for  the  sake  of  preserving  this  knowledge  as  pure  as 
possible,  they  transmitted  it  secretly  to  their  successors. 

Mythology  has  had  the  same  origin;  that  is,  it  has 
arisen  from  the  science  of  correspondences,  and  can  only 
be  interpreted  correctly  in  accordance  therewith,  although 
more  or  less  perverted  and  superficial,  like  all  the  writings 
and  works  of  man,  when  compared  with  the  Word  and 
works  of  God.  In  the  better  and  early  ages  of  the  world 
men  regarded  spiritual  knowledge  as  being  far  more 
important  than  natural  knowledge;  therefore  they  were 
disposed  to  talk  and  write  in  correspondential  or  allegorical 
language.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  earliest  writings 
are  allegorical ;  even  the  history  of  Kome,  traced  back, 
ends  in  a  myth. 

But  the  question  will  doubtless  arise  with  many :  "  If 
the  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  the  book  of  Eevelation,  the 
parables  of  the  Lord,  and  other  portions  of  the  Word,  are 
allegorical,  or  composed  and  not  real  histories,  bearing  a 
resemblance,  to  say  the  least,  to  the  mythological  writings 
of  the  ancients,  how  are  we  to  distinguish  between  what 
writings  are  Divine  revelations  and  what  are  merely 
human  productions  ?"  On  a  very  superficial,  and  without 
a  somewhat  careful  examination,  this  might  be  as  difficult 
as  it  would  be  to  distinguish  at  a  distance,  and  on  such  an 
examination,  between  either  a  nicely  painted  and  dressed 
manikin  or  a  mere  figure  of  a  man  and  a  real  living  man  ; 
certainly  not  more  difficult  than  it  is  to  distinguish  be- 
tween a  selfish,  sensual  man,  whose  chief  delight  is  his 
own  gratification,  and  the  true  God-serving  man,  who 
delights  in  doing  good  to  others,  and  conscientiously  does 
what  is  just  and  right.  We  distinguish  a  real  man  from 
the  most  careful  man-made  image,  by  discovering  evi* 


SUN   WORSHIP   AND   IDOLATRY.  103 

dences  of  life  in  the  one,  and  in  every  part,  even  the  most 
minute,  and  all  parts  connected,  and  acting  harmoniously, 
which  we  do  not  find  in  the  other.  So,  to  distinguish 
between  the  bad  and  good  man,  we  must  read  the  real  life 
of  each  as  manifested  in  looks,  speech,  and  acts.  The 
Lord  when  on  earth  declared:  "It  is  the  spirit  that 
quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing ;  the  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life."  Here 
then  lies  the  grand  distinction  between  the  Word  of  God 
and  the  words  of  man ;  the  one  is  living,  having  a  spiritual 
sense  running  throughout  containing  infinite  treasure  of 
spiritual  wisdom;  there  are  no  real  contradictions,  no 
conflict,  no  jar  in  the  spiritual  sense — it  is  one  woven 
from  the  top  throughout;  whereas  in  the  mythological 
writings  of  men,  there  is  no  connected  spiritual  sense — no 
infinite  treasures  of  wisdom;  there  is  a  lack  of  Divine 
harmony  and  unity — they  are  man-made.  The  reader  has 
only  to  carefully  read  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  to  see 
how  wonderfully  clear  is  the  distinction  between  the  sacred 
Scriptures  and  the  writings  of  men,  and  to  be  able  to 
perceive  clearly  that  the  former  are  indeed  Divine,  special 
revelations  given  for  the  good  of  man,  and  even  angels, 
for  we  read,  "  Thy  Word,  0  Lord,  is  established  forever 
in  the  heavens/' 

That  there  were  other  sacred  writings  or  revelations 
given  to  the  ancients,  besides  those  contained  in  our  Bible, 
is  manifest  from  the  quotations  contained  in  the  Scrip- 
tures from  such  works ;  and  it  is  certain  that  some  of  them, 
at  least,  were  prophetical  and  composed  histories  or  were 
allegorical,  similar  to  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis. 

Thus  says  Swedenborg:  "The  saying  that  the  sun  stood 
still  upon  Gibeon  and  the  moon  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon, 
signified  that  the  church  was  entirely  vastated  as  to  all 
good  and  truth.  For  a  battle  was  then  fought  against  the 
king  of  Jerusalem  and  the  kings  of  the  Amorites ;  and  by 
the  king  of  Jerusalem  the  truth  of  the  church  entirely 
vastated  by  falsities  is  signified,  and  by  the  kings  of  the 


104  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

Amorites  is  signified  the  good  of  the  church  vastated  by 
evils.  Therefore  those  kings  were  smitten  with  hail- 
stones, by  which  are  signified  the  horrible  falsities  of  evil. 
It  is  said  that  the  sun  stood  still  and  the  moon  stayed,  that 
is,  in  the  sight  of  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  might 
see  their  enemies ;  but  this  was  prophetical,  although 
historically  related,  as  may  appear  from  the  circumstance 
that  it  is  said,  f  Is  not  this  written  in  the  look  of  Jasher  9 ' 
which  was  a  prophetical  book  out  of  which  these  words 
were  taken.  From  this  same  book  therefore  it  is  said  too, 
'  Until  the  nation  was  avenged  upon  its  enemies,'  and  not 
until  the  children  of  Israel  were  avenged  upon  their, 
enemies,  for  the  word  '  nation '  is  said  prophetically. 
The  same  is  evident  moreover  from  the  consideration  that 
this  miracle,  if  it  had  been  just  so  accomplished,  would 
have  inverted  the  whole  order  of  nature  ;  which  the  other 
miracles  in  the  Word  would  not  have  done." 

We  fancy  that  the  reader  will  be  a  little  better  able  to 
understand  how  the  Divine  love  and  wisdom,  denoted  in 
correspondential  language  by  the  sun,  which  combine  in- 
finite mercy,  and  a  true  faith  signified  by  the  moon,  ceased 
to  progress  in  the  hearts  and  intellects  of  these  cruel,  bar- 
barous men  who  were  relentlessly  killing  each  other,  even 
killing  their  helpless  captives  in  cold  blood,  than  how  the 
natural  sun  and  moon  stood  still,  or  the  earth  stopped 
turning  on  its  axis.  There  ever  flow  down  to  man  from 
the  Lord,  love,  mercy,  and  truth ;  it  is  man  that  perverts 
these  heavenly  influences  into  hatred  and  falsehood,  until 
at  length  he  becomes  so  vastated  of  all  goodness  and  truth, 
by  a  life  of  evil,  that  he  sees  falsehood  as  truth,  and  acts 
of  cruelty,  when  they  gratify  his  selfishness,  as  good. 

In  regard  to  these  ancient  revelations  not  embodied  in 
our  Bible,  Swedenborg  says : 

CONCERNING  THE  ANCIENT  WORD  WHICH  IS  LOST. 

"The  religious  systems  of  many  nations  are  derived 
from  that  Word,  and  were  conveyed  from  the  land  oi 


SPIRITUALISM.  105 

Canaan,  and  from  many  parts  of  Asia  into  Greece,  and 
thence  into  Italy,  and  through  Ethiopia  and  Egypt  into 
certain  kingdoms  of  Africa ;  but  in  Greece  they  converted 
the  correspondences  into  fables,  and  the  divine  attributes 
into  so  many  gods,  the  chief  of  which  they  called  Jove, 
from  Jehovah." 

XIX. 

Spiritualism. 

"TTT"E  must  either  deny  the  truth  of  the  many  relations 
VV     of  spiritual  vision  contained  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  reports  and  traditions  of  such  visions  exist- 
ing among  all  nations,  or  we  must  admit  the  possibility  oif 
man's  having  intercourse  with  spirits;  and  if  men  have- 
ever  had  such  intercourse  in  the  past,  it  would  certainly 
seem  possible  for  them  to  have  such  at  this  day ;  therefore 
we  feel  no  disposition  to  deny  any  of  the  well  attested  facts 
of  modern  Spiritualism,  although  we  must  use  our  reason, 
enlightened  by  the  revelations  which  the  Lord  has  given 
us,  to  judge  of  its  phenomena,  as  we  have  done  in  the  case 
of  the  standing  still  of  the  sun  and  staying  of  the  moon  at 
the  command  of  Joshua ;  for  we  know  that  the  world  is 
full  of  truths  which  are  only  apparent,  and  not  real  truths, 
like  the  apparent  passage  of  the  sun  around  the  earth; 
and  many  of  these  apparent  truths  can  only  be  distin- 
guished from  real  truths  by  enlightened  reason,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  by  the  aid  of  Divine  revelation  alone.    Admit- 
ting, then,  the  possible  reality  of  modern  Spiritualism, 
after  sifting  out  all  deceptions  and  frauds,  we  know  that 
all  things  are  not  as  they  seem  to  its  advocates;  and  if 
Spiritualists  will  but  read  the  writings  of  Emanuel  Swe- 
denborg,  they  will  find  that  there  are   many  apparent 
truths  in  their  philosophy,  and  they   will   also  find  a 
science  which  fairly  underlies  Spiritualism,  written  long 
before  its  phenomena  commenced. 
But  it  is  one  thing  to  a'dmit  that  it  is  possible  at  this 


106  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

day  to  hold  intercourse  with  spirits,  but  it  is  quite  another 
thing  to  admit  that  it  is  either  well,  safe,  or  desirable  to 
do  so. 

Let  us  see  what  the  Bible,  that  glorious  volume  which 
has  come  down  to  us  from  our  fathers,  which  not  only 
claims  to  be,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  Word  of  God,  has 
to  say  on  the  subject  of  Spiritualism  ?  Erom  this  book 
we  learn  that  there  is  a  spiritual  world,  and  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  see  and  converse  with  spirits,  and  that  man  has 
guardian  spirits,  and  that  there  are  evil  or  unclean  spirits; 
and  numerous  examples  or  instances  are  given  of  open 
vision  and  spiritual  communication,  and  even  of  men 
being  possessed  by  spirits,  so  that  Spiritualism  is  not 
new. 

But  we  hear  from  the  sacred  volume  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  Spiritualism — if  you  please ;  one  by  Divine  per- 
mission, protection,  and  guidance,  in  which  the  Lord  and 
His  angels  manifest  themselves  to  men,  and  reveal  im- 
portant truths,  and  permit  men  to  see  the  inhabitants  of 
the  spiritual  world,  as  was  the  case  with  the  prophets  and 
disciples,  and  especially  with  John  the  Eevelator ;  the 
individual  man  not  having  sought  such  intercourse,  but 
seeming  to  have  been  chosen  for  his  office,  and  only  when 
some  important  knowledge  or  information  for  the  good  of 
his  race  was  to  be  imparted  by  or  through  him.  The 
second  class  of  communications  and  spiritual  phenomena 
would  seem  to  be  disorderly  and  evil,  from  the  fact  that 
they  are  prohibited  by  the  Lord  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
that  the  Lord  when  on  earth  cast  out  the  possessing 
spirits,  in  one  instance  permitting  them  to  enter  a  herd  of 
swine,  the  latter  being  among  the  lowest  and  most  filthy 
of  all  animals,  these  possessing  spirits  choosing  them  for  a 
habitation  ;  but  it  seems  no  good  came  to  the  poor  swine, 
for  according  to  the  record  it  would  appear  that  the  whole 
herd  ran  down  a  steep  place  and  perished  in  the  sea.  In 
the  Old  Testament  we  read  :  "Regard  not  them  that  have 
familiar  spirits,  neither  seek  after  wizards  to  be  defiled  by 


SPIKITUALISM.  107 

tr^rn.  I  am  the  Lord  your  God"  (Leviticus  xix.  31). 
"  And  the  soul  that  turneth  after  such  as  have  familiar 
spirits  and  after  wizards,  to  go  a  whoring  after  them,  I 
will  even  set  my  face  against  that  soul,  and  will  cut  him 
off  from  among  his  people '  (Lev.  xx.  6).  "There  shall 
no't  be  found  among  you  any  one  that  maketh  his  son  or 
his  daughter  to  pass  through  the  fire,  or  that  useth  divina- 
tion, or  an  observer  of  times,  or  an  enchanter,  or  a  witch,  or 
a  charmer,  or  a  consulter  with  familiar  spirits,  or  a  wizard, 
or  a  necromancer.  For  all  that  do  these  things  are  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord,  and  because  of  these  abomina- 
tions the  Lord  thy  God  doth  drive  them  out  from  before 
thee"  (Deut.  xviii.  10-12).  "And  when  they  shall  say 
unto  you,  Seek  unto  them  that  have  familiar  spirits,  and 
unto  wizards  that  peep  and  that  mutter;  should  not  a 
people  seek  unto  their  God  ?  for  the  living  to  the  dead  ? 
to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony?  if  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them" 
(Isaiah  viii.  19,  20).  Can  it  be  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
would  so  pointedly  condemn  seeking  communications  from 
spirits,  even  to  the  driving  of  nations  out  of  their  lands 
and  cutting  them  off,  if  it  were  a  harmless  practice  ?  If  it 
was  an  evil,  and  such  a  deadly  one,  to  seek  intercourse  with 
spirits  several  thousands  of  years  ago,  is  it  any  the  less 
wrong  now?  If  obsession  was  so  objectionable  that  the 
Lord,  when  on  earth,  drove  out  possessing  spirits,  and 
gave  His  disciples  power  over  such  spirits,  should  men  and 
women  to-day  allow  spirits  to  take  possession  of  their 
bodies,  and  perhaps  souls,  and  speak  and  write  through 
them?  And  should  we,  as  rational  beings,  seek  com-' 
munications  either  through  mediums,  or  directly  from 
spirits,  in  defiance  of  the  above  warnings  of  Divine  revela- 
tion ?  These  are  questions  well  worthy  of  our  most  serious 
consideration,  for  our  eternal  welfare  may  depend,  more 
than  we  imagine,  on  our  decision,  and  consequent  action. 
Is  there  any  good  reason  why  the  Lord  prohibited, 
under  the  most  fearful  penalties,  the  consulting  with 


108  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

familiar  spirits,  or  even  with  those  who  have  such  spirits  ? 
What  real  objection  can  there  be  to  our  seeking  open  in- 
tercourse with  spirits,  and  consulting  and  regarding  those 
who  can  see  and  converse  with  spirits?  Surely,  if  it  is 
wrong,  there  must  be  some  good  reason  why  it  is  so, 
which  would  appeal  to  our  understandings.  A  great 
many  intelligent  men  at  this  day,  and  who  are  not  among 
the  worst  of  men,  have  in  a  great  measure  outgrown 
authority;  and,  perhaps  to  a  greater  extent  than  they 
should  have  done,  reverence  for  ancient  dogmas.  If 
Spiritualism,  for  instance,  is  objectionable  and  wrong,  as 
the  Bible  plainly  teaches,  they  want  to  understand  the  why 
and  the  wherefore. 

Let  us  then  carefully  examine  this  subject  in  the  light 
of  revelation  and  of  reason.  In  the  first  Epistle  of  John  we 
are  directed  to  "  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God  ;"  and  the  following  is  the  crite- 
rion: "Hereby  know  ye  the  spirit  of  God;  every  spirit 
that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is 
of  God;"  and  we  are  told  that  every  spirit  that  confesseth 
not  this  doctrine  is  not  of  God.  Now,  how  many  spiritual 
mediums  and  communicating  spirits  are  of  God,  according 
to  this  test  ?  In  First  Timothy  we  have  a  prediction ;  the 
reader  can  judge  whether  it  is  being  fulfilled  at  this  day 
or  not.  We  read:  "That  in  the  latter  times  some  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and 
doctrines  of  devils."  The  divinely  commissioned  seer  for 
the  New  Jerusalem  dispensation,  which  is  now  being 
established  on  earth,  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  assures  us 
from  actual  observation  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  from  a 
most  intimate  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  that  world,  and 
of  spiritual  intercourse  with  and  influx  into  this  world, 
"that  to  speak  with  angels  of  heaven  is  granted  to  none 
but  such  as  are  grounded  in  truths  originating  in  good, 
especially  in  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord  and  of  the 
divinity  in  His  humanity;  this  being  the  truth  in  which 
the  heavens  are  established.  For  the  Lord  is  tho  God  of 


SPIKITUALISM.  109 

heaven ;  the  Lord's  divine  sphere  constitutes  heaven,  and 
the  Lord's  divine  sphere  in  heaven  is  love  to  Him  and 
charity  towards  the  neighbor  derived  from  Him."  It  will 
here  be  noticed  that  Swedenborg's  testimony  is  in  strict 
agreement  with  the  apostle  John's  statement. 

Swedenborg  found  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  described 
carefully,  three  heavens,  all  the  inhabitants  of  which 
acknowledged  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  God,  the  sacred 
Scriptures  as  revelations  from  God,  and  were  actuated  in 
all  they*  did  and  said  by  either  love  to  the  Lord,  charity  to 
the  neighbor,  or  love  of  obedience  to  the  Divine  command- 
ments. He  also  found  three  other  societies  opposite  the 
heavens,  which  he  denominates  hell,  all  the  inhabitants  of 
which  deny  the  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  deny 
that  the  sacred  Scriptures  are  the  Word  of  God,  and  are 
actuated  in  all  that  they  do  by  some  form  of  selfishness, 
and  deny  the  possibility  of  any  one  acting  from  any  higher 
motive  than  a  selfish  motive.  He  found  intermediate  be- 
tween heaven  and  hell  what  he  calls  the  world  of  spirits, 
which  is  the  common  receptacle  for  all  men  when  they 
leave  this  world,  where  their  ruling  loves  are  developed 
and  they  are  prepared  to  enter  either  heaven  or  hell.  He 
assures  us  that  the  world  of  spirits  is  like  this  world,  from 
which  it  is  constantly  being  peopled,  to  a  great  extent, 
filled  with  lying  and  deceiving  inhabitants,  or  spirits, 
who  deny  the  Lord,  the  necessity  for  regeneration  and 
heavenly  truths.  Unless  guided  and  protected  by  the 
Lord  and  His  angels,  for  a  special  purpose,  a  man,  in 
t  open  intercourse,  simply  comes  in  contact  with  his  asso- 
>  ciate  spirits,  or  those  like  himself,  in  a  similar  faith  and 
life ;  consequently,  when  a  man  is  believing  false  doctrines, 
and  actuated  by  evil  loves  or  perverted  affections,  if  he  has 
intercourse  with  spirits,  he  necessarily  comes  in  contact 
with  evil  spirits.  Therefore,  says  Swedenborg,  "to  speak 
with  spirits  is  at  this  day  rarely  granted,  because  it  is 
dangerous  ;  for  the  spirits  then  know  that  they  are  present 
with  man,  which  otherwise  they  do  not  know,  and  evil 


110  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

spirits  are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  regard  man  with 
deadly  hatred,  and  desire  nothing  more  than  to  destroy 
him."  Especially  do  they  strive  to  destroy  all  heavenly 
truths  and  affections  in  his  soul.  Such  destruction  is 
spiritual  death — not  annihilation,  but  the  death  which 
was  pronounced  in  Eden. 

Again,  Swedenborg  says:  "It  is  believed  by  many  that 
man  may  be  taught  of  the  Lord  by  spirits  speaking  with 
him ;  but  they  who  believe  and  desire  this  do  not  know 
that  it  is  connected  with  danger  to  their  souls.  '  So  long 
as  man  lives  in  the  world,  he  is  as  to  his  spirit  in  the 
midst  of  spirits,  and  yet  the  spirits  do  not  know  that  they 
are  with  man,  nor  does  a  man  know  that  he  is  with 
spirits.  The  reason  is  that  they  are  conjoined  imme- 
diately as  to  affections  of  the  will,  and  mediately  as  to  the 
thoughts  of  the  understanding.  For  man  thinks  natu- 
rally, and  spirits  think  spiritually;  and  natural  and 
spiritual  thought  do  not  make  one  otherwise  than  by  cor- 
respondences— and  unity  by  correspondences  causes  that 
one  knows  nothing  of  the  other.  But  as  soon  as  spirits 
begin  to  speak  with  a  man  they  come  out  of  their  spiritual 
state  into  the  natural  state  of  the  man;  and  then  they 
know  that  they  are  with  the  man,  and  conjoin  themselves 
with  the  thoughts  of  his  affections,  and  from  these  speak 
with  him.  They  cannot  enter  into  anything  else ;  for  a 
similar  affection  and  consequent  thought  conjoins  all,  and 
a  dissimilar  separates.  It  is  owing  to  this  that  the  spirit 
speaking  is  in  the  same  principles  as  the  man,  be  they 
truths  or  be  they  falsities;  and  also  that  he  excites  them, 
and  by  his  affection  conjoined  to  the  man's  affection 
strongly  confirms  them.  *  *  *  From  these  considerations 
it  is  evident  to  what  danger  a  man  is  exposed  who  speaks 
with  spirits,  or  manifestly  feels  their  operation.  Man  is 
ignorant  of  the  quality  of  his  own  affection,  whether  it  be 
good  or  evil,  and  with  what  other  beings  he  is  conjoined; 
and  if  he  has  a  conceit  of  his  own  intelligence  the  spirits 
favor  every  thought  that  comes  from  it.  So  it  is  if  any 


SPIRITUALISM.  Ill 

one,  inflamed  with  a  sort  of  fire,  has  a  leaning  to  certain 
principles ;  which  is  the  case  with  those  who  are  not  in 
truths  from  a  genuine  affection.  When  a  spirit  favors  a 
man's  thoughts  or  principles,  from  a  similar  affection,  the 
one  leads  the  other  as  the  blind  leads  the  blind,  until  both 
fall  into  the  pit.  Such  were  the  Pythonie  (diviners)  of 
old ;  and  also  the  magicians  in  Egypt  and  in  Babylon,  who 
on  account  of  their  converse  with  spirits,  and  on  account 
of  the  operation  of  them  upon  themselves,  manifestly  felt, 
were  called  wise.  But  the  worship  of  God  was  thereby 
converted  into  the  worship  of  demons,  and  the  church 
perished.  For  this  reason  such  communications  were 
forbidden  to  the  children  of  Israel  under  penalty  of 
death." 

Not  only  the  church  but  those  mighty  nations  perished 
also ;  where  are  Egypt  and  Babylon  to-day  ? 

The  first  sentence  of  the  following  quotation  from 
Swedenborg's  u  Heaven  and  Hell"  throws  a  flood  of  light 
on  the  subject  of  modern  Spiritualism,  the  want  of  reli- 
ability and  identity  of  spirits,  etc.,  etc. 

"  It  is  not  lawful  for  any  angel  or  spirit  to  converse  with 
man  from  his  own  memory,  but  only  from  that  of  the 
man.  For  angels  and  spirits  have  memory  as  well  as  men ; 
and  if  a  spirit  were  to  speak  with  a  man  from  his  own 
memory,  the  man  would  not  know  but  that  the  things 
which  then  became  the  subject  of  his  thoughts  belonged 
ttf  himself,  although  they  belonged  to  the  spirit.  This  is 
like  remembering  a  thing  which,  nevertheless,  the  man 
had  never  heard  of  or  seen.  That  such  is  the  fact  has 
been  given  me  to  know  by  experience.  This  is  the  origin 
of  the  opinion  held  by  some  of  the  ancients,  that  after 
some  thousands  of  years  they  should  return  into  their 
former  life,  and  into  all  its  transactions,  and  that  they 
actually  had  so  returned.  They  drew  this  conclusion  from 
the  circumstance,  that  there  sometimes  occurred  to  them 
what  seemed  to  be  a  remembrance  of  things  which,  never- 
theless, they  had  never  seen  or  heard.  This  appearance 


112  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

was  produced  by  an  influx  of  spirits,  from  their  own 
memory,  into  their  ideas  of  thought/' 

If  we  bear  the  above  statement  cf  Swedenborg  in  mind, 
we  shall  be  the  better  able  to  appreciate  and  comprehend 
the  following  quotations  from  his  writings ;  and  the  reader 
will  please  remember  that  Swedenborg  wrote  about  a  cen- 
tury before  "Modern  Spiritualism"  commenced;  and  we 
here  acknowledge  that  we  are  either  directly  or  indirectly 
indebted  to  his  writings,  or  to  the  Lord  through  his  in- 
strumentality, not  only  for  the  quotations,  but  also  for  all 
the  ideas  contained  in  this  section  on  Spiritualism,  which 
have  not  been  drawn  from  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

One  of  Swedenborg's  immediate  friends  and  followers 
suggested  to  him,  or  inquired  of  him,  if  it  would  not  be 
well  to  omit  his  "memorable  relations"  of  things  seen 
and  heard  in  the  spiritual  world,  which  are  interspersed 
throughout  his  writings,  as  they  tended  to  prejudice 
people  against  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  His 
reply  was,  simply,  that  he  was  commanded  to  write  them. 
We  think  it  is  not  difficult  to-day  to  understand  why  the 
Lord  required  him  to  write  them,  and  the  notes  of  in* 
struction  and  warning  which  they  contain  to  us.  Nor  is 
it  difficult  to  understand  why  he  was  permitted  to  expe- 
rience and  detail  many  things  for  our  enlightenment  and 
warning  which,  to  his  acquaintances,  must  have  seemed 
very  strange  and  incomprehensible ;  among  which  may  be 
named:  spirits  writing  through  his  hand,  without  his 
being  conscious  of  what  they  wrote  while  they  were 
writing;  but  he  informs  us  that  he  was  commanded  to 
destroy  all  such  writings,  and  not  a  line  remains — only 
the  suggestion  which  his  statement  conveys,  which  is  a 
caution  to  us,  if  we  are  wise. 

Swedenborg  informs  us  that  spirits  which  have  inter- 
course with  man  "  know  all  the  thoughts  which  the  man 
himself  knows,  and  also  the  smallest  minutice  of  the 
thoughts  and  affections,  ivhich  the  man  doth  not  know ; 
yea,  such  things  as  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  know  in  the 


SPIRITUALISM.  113 

life  of  the  body.'9  And  again,  "They  enter  into  all  his 
memory,  and  into  all  the  sciences  of  memory  which  man 
possesses ;  thus  they  put  on  all  things  which  are  man's, 
insomuch  that  they  know  no  other  than  that  those  things 
are  theirs;  spirits  have  this  prerogative  above  men;  hence 
it  is  that  all  things  which  man  thinks,  they  think,  and 
that  all  things  which  man  wills,  they  will ;  and  vice  versa, 
all  things  which  those  spirits  think,  man  thinks,  and  all 
things  which  those  spirits  will,  man  wills ;  for  they  act  in 
unity  by  conjunction.  Yet  it  is  supposed  by  both  parties 
that  such  things  are  in  themselves,  so  spirits  suppose,  and 
so  men ;  but  this  is  a  fallacy."  (A.  C.  5853.) 

Again  he  says:  "  When  similar  things  are  called  up  in 
the  memory  of  man,  and  are  thus  represented  to  them 
[spirits],  they  think  they  are  the  same  person ;  then  all 
the  things  are  called  forth  from  the  memory  which  repre- 
sent those  persons,  both  the  words,  the  speech,  the  tone, 
the  gesture,  and  other  things."  "It  has  many  times  been 
shown  to  me  that  the  spirits  speaking  with  me  did  not 
know  otherwise  than  that  they  were  the  men  who  were  the 
subject  of  thought;  and  neither  did  other  spirits  know 
otherwise ;  as  yesterday  and  to-day,  some  one  known  to  me 
in  life  (was  represented  by  one),  who  was  so  like  him  in 
all  things  which  belong  to  him,  so  far  as  they  were  known 
to  me,  that  nothing  was  more  like.  Wherefore,  let  those 
who  speak  with  spirits  beware  lest  they  be  deceived,  when 
they  say  that  they  are  those  whom  they  know,  and  that 
they  are  dead." 

"For  there  are  genera  and  species  of  spirits  of  a  like 
faculty;  and  when  similar  things  are  called  up  in  the 
memory  of  man,  and  are  thus  represented  to  them,  they 
think  that  they  are  the  same  person :  then  all  things  are 
called  forth  from  the  memory  which  represent  those  per- 
sons, the  words,  the  speech,  the  tone,  the  gesture,  and 
other  things;  besides  that,  they  are  induced  to  think  thus 
when  other  spirits  inspire  them,  for  then  they  are  in  the 
phantasy  of  those,  and  think  they  are  the  same." 


114  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

Again  Swedenborg  says:  "Sometimes  it  was  shown  to 
me  by  experience,  that  spirits  were  induced  to  believe  that 
they  were  those  persons  about  whose  life  and  manners  I 
was  able  to  have  some  knowledge,  and  from  this  knowl- 
edge in  my  mind  they  induced  other  spirits  to  believe  that 
they  were  these  persons;  they  spoke  in  the  same  manner, 
had  the  same  disposition,  and  many  other  like  things. 
They  were  endeavoring  even  to  make  me  believe  that  they 
were  these  persons ;  but  because  I  had  learned  that  other 
persons  may  be  personified  thus  perfectly  by  spirits,  they 
could  not  impose  upon  me. 

"  Wherefore  let  those  be  careful  to  whom  it  is  granted 
to  speak  with  spirits  lest  they  believe  that  the  spirits  are 
those  whom  they  pretend  to  be ;  for  they  are  able  to 
assume  the  likeness  of  any  man  which  they  find  in  the 
memory  of  the  man  with  whom  they  are.  That  this  is  so 
may  also  appear  from  this  circumstance,  because  such 
spirits  are  associated  with  men  as  are  like  them;  and  when 
they  are  with  men  they  do  not  know  otherwise  but  that 
they  are  they."  (Spirit.  Diary,  2686,  2687.) 

"  The  spirits  attendant  on  those  who  are  in  Heresies,  in 
Fallacies,  and  Illusions,  as  to  the  truths  of  faith,  and  in 
falses,  are  in  the  like,  without  the  slightest  difference.  The 
reason  of  this  is,  that  man  may  be  in  his  freedom,  and  may 
not  be  disturbed  ~by  any  propriety  of  a  spirit."  (A.  C. 5 8 60.) 

The  above  statements  are  worthy  of  our  most  serious 
consideration;  for,  in  their  light,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
understand  why  we  should  not  seek  open  intercourse  with 
spirits,  if  we  would  preserve  our  mental  freedom,  and  retain 
our  rational  faculties  unimpaired,  and  avoid  being  misled 
by  presumptuous  spirits. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  according  to  the  above  statements,  any 
spirit,  if  he  can  get  access  to  our  memory,  either  directly, 
or  through  a  medium,  can  not  only  give  us  the  names  of 
our  friends  in  the  spirit  world,  but  also  personate  them  in 
every  respect,  even  as  to  looks,  handwriting,  etc.,  etc. 

Again   Swedenborg   says:    "That  the  things  which  I 


SPIKITUALISM.  115 

learned  in  representations  and  visions,  and  from  discourses 
with  spirits  and  angels,  are  from  the  Lord  alone.  When- 
ever there  was  any  representation,  vision,  and  discourse, 
I  was  kept  interiorly  and  most  interiorly  in  reflection 
upon  it,  as  to  what  thence  was  useful  and  good,  thus  what 
I  might  learn  therefrom;  which  reflection  was  not  thus 
attended  to  by  those  who  presented  the  representations 
and  visions,  and  who  were  speaking ;  yea,  sometimes  they 
were  indignant  when  they  perceived  that  I  was  reflecting. 
Thus  have  I  been  instructed ;  consequently  by  no  spirit,  nor 
by  any  angel,  but  by  the  Lord  alone,  from  whom  is  all  truth 
and  good ;  yea,  when  they  wished  to  instruct  me  concern- 
ing various  things,  there  was  scarcely  anything  but  what 
was  false;  wherefore  I  was  prohibited  from  believing  any- 
thing that  they  spake ;  nor  was  I  permitted  to  infer  any 
such  thing  as  was  proper  to  them.  Besides,  when  they 
wished  to  persuade  me,  I  perceived  an  interior  or  most 
interior  persuasion  that  the  thing  was  such,  and  not  as 
they  wished ;  which  also  they  wondered  at ;  the  perception 
was  manifest,  but  cannot  be  easily  described  to  the  appre- 
hension." (Sp.  Diary,  1647.) 

He  says,  "  That  spirits  relate  things  exceedingly  ficti- 
tious, and  lie.  When  spirits  begin  to  speak  with  man,  he 
must  beware  lest  he  believe  them  in  anything ;  for  they 
say  almost  anything;  things  are  fabricated  by  them,  and 
they  lie ;  for  if  they  were  permitted  to  relate  what  heaven 
is,  and  how  things  are  in  the  heavens,  they  would  tell  so 
-many  lies,  and  indeed  with  solemn  affirmation,  that  man 
would  be  astonished ;  wherefore,  when  spirits  were  speak- 
ing, I  was  not  permitted  to  have  faith  in  the  things  which 
they  related.  For  they  are  extremely  fond  of  fabricating.5* 

In  regard  to  the  desirability  of  speaking  with  spirits  and 
its  influence  on  men,  Swedenborg  says  :  "  Speaking  with 
the  dead  would  produce  a  like  effect,  as  miracles,  concern- 
ing which  just  above  ;  namely,  that  man  would  be  per- 
suaded and  driven  to  worship  for  a  little  time ;  but 
because  this  deprives  man  of  rationality,  and  at  the  same 


116  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION". 

time  shuts  in  evils  as  was  said  above,  this  enchantment  01 
internal  bond  is  loosed,  and  the  evils  shut  in  burst  forth, 
with  blasphemy  and  profanation ;  but  this  takes  place 
only  when  the  spirits  induce  some  dogma  of  religion, 
which  is  never  done  by  any  good  spirit,  still  less  by  any 
angel  of  heaven."  (D.  P.,  134.) 

Swedenborg  makes  one  statemen  fc  which  every  man  ancf 
woman  will  do  well  to  heed,  in  order  to  keep  out  oj 
danger,  which  is:  If  a  man  hears  a  spirit  speaking  to  him 
it  is  not  lawful  for  him  to  reply;  for  if  he  does  then  the 
spirit  knows  that  he  is  with  man  in  this  world,  which 
otherwise  he  would  not  know,  and  could  not  injure  the 
man.  How  important  then  that  we  never  give  the  consent 
of  our  will  by  voluntarily  attending  "  circles,"  "  seances," 
the  lectures  of  "  trance  speakers,"  etc.,  etc.  Or  if  we  have 
already  done  this,  that  we  shun  doing  it  again,  lest  we  be 
led  by  evil  spirits  to  doubt  arid  deny  the  Divinity  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Holiness  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  the  necessity  of  regeneration,  if  we  would  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

XX. 

In  What  Degree  a  Mediate  Revelation,  which 
is  Effected  by  Means  of  the  Word,  is  Preferable 
to  an  Immediate  Revelation,  which  is  Effected 
by  Means  of  Spirits. 

QWEDENBORG  says:  "It  is  generally  believed  that 
fO  man  might  be  more  enlightened  and  become  more  wise 
if  an  immediate  revelation  was  granted  him  by  means  of 
converse  with  spirits  and  angels ;  but  the  reverse  is  the  case. 
Illustration  by  means  of  the  Word  is  effected  by  an  interior 
way,  whereas  illustration  by  means  of  an  immediate  reve- 
lation is  effected  by  an  exterior  way.  The  interior  way  is 
by  the  will  into  the  understanding,  the  exterior  way  is  by 
the  hearing  into  the  understanding.  Man,  by  means  of 
the  Word,  is  illustrated  by  the  Lord  in  proportion  as  his 


WHAT   KEVELATIOtf  IS   PKEFERABLE ?  117 

will  is  in  good ;  but  man  by  hearing  may  be  instructed, 
and  as  it  were  illustrated,  although  his  will  is  in  evil,  and 
what  enters  into  the  understanding  in  a  man  whose  will  is 
in  evil,  is  not  within  the  man  bat  without  him,  and  is 
only  in  his  memory  and  not  in  his  life ;  and  what  is  with- 
out man  and  not  in  his  life  is  gradually  separated,  if  not 
before,  nevertheless  after  death ;  for  the  will  which  is  in 
evil  either  casts  it  out  or  suffocates  it,  or  falsifies  and 
profanes  it ;  for  the  will  constitutes  the  life  of  man,  and 
continually  acts  upon  the  understanding,  and  regards  as 
extraneous  what  is  derived  into  the  understanding  from 
the  memory.  On  the  contrary,  the  understanding  does  not 
act  on  the  will,,  but  it  only  teaches  in  what  manner  the  will 
should  act ;  wherefore  if  a  man  knew  from  heaven  whatever 
is  known  to  the  angels,  or  if  he  knew  whatever  is  con- 
tained in  the  Word,  and  moreover  all  that  is  contained  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  church,  which  the  fathers  have  written 
and  councils  declared,  and  his  will  remains  in  evil,  never- 
theless after  death  such  a  man  would  be  regarded  as  one 
who  knows  nothing,  because  he  do.es  not  will  what  he 
knows ;  and  whereas  evil  hates  truth  in  this  case,  the  man 
himself  casts  out  truths,  and  in  the  room  thereof  adopts 
such  falses  as  are  in  agreement  with  the  evil  of  his  will. 
Moreover,  permission  is  not  granted  to  any  spirit  nor  to 
any  angel  to  teach  any  man  on  this  earth  in  divine  truths, 
but  the  Lord  himself  teaches  every  one  by  means  of  the 
Word,  and  man  is  taught  in  proportion  as  he  receives 
good  from  the  Lord  in  his  will,  and  he  receives  good  in 
the  same  proportion  as  he  flees  evils  as  sins ;  every  man 
also  is  in  a  society  of  spirits  as  to  his  affections  and  as  to 
his  thoughts  thence  derived,  in  which  society  his  mind  is 
as  it  were  present  with  them;  wherefore  spirits  speaking 
with  man,  speak  from  his  affections  and  according  to  them. 
"A  man  cannot  converse  with  other  spirits  unless  the 
societies  in  which  he  is  be  first  removed,  which  cannot  le 
done  except  ~by  a  reformation  of  his  will;  because  every 
man  is  in  society  with  spirits  who  are  in  the  same  religion 


118  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

with  himself;  wherefore  when  the  spirits  converse  with 
him,  they  confirm  whatever  a  man  has  made  a  part  of  his 
religion ;  consequently  enthusiastic  spirits  confirm  what- 
ever is  of  enthusiasm  with  man;  Quaker  spirits  confirm 
whatever  is  of  Quakerism;  Moravian  spirits  whatever  is 
of  Moravianism,  and  so  forth.  Hence  proceed  confirma- 
tions of  the  false  which  can  never  be  extirpated.  From 
this  it  appears  that  mediate  revelation,  which  is  effected 
by  means  of  the  Word,  is  preferable  to  immediate  revela- 
tion, which  is  effected  by  means  of  spirits.  As  to  what 
regards  myself,  it  was  not  allowed  to  take  anything  from 
the  dictate  of  any  spirit,  or  from  the  dictate  of  any  angel, 
but  from  the  dictate  of  the  Lord  alone. " 

Spiritualists  generally  recognize  and  acknowledge  most 
distinctly  and  clearly,  in  their  conversation  and  writings, 
the  great  law  of  spiritual  association  or  affinity  ;  -that  like 
dwell  with  like,  and  that  like  attract  like,  which  Sweden- 
borg  so  fully  illustrates  in  all  his  writings :  consequently, 
that  man,  while  here,  attracts  to  himself  spirits  like  him- 
self, both  as  to  principles  and  life ;  therefore,  in  open  in- 
tercourse he  only  comes  in  contact  with  his  like.  JSTow,  if 
they  will  stop  and  use  the  reason ~to  which  they  appeal  in 
the  case  of  the  Bible,  they  can  but  see  the  impropriety 
and  danger  of  seeking  intercourse  with  spirits.  Let  us 
look  at  this  subject  for  a  moment  from-  their  own  stand- 
point, or  the  law  of  affinity,  the  truth  of  which  they 
admit,  in  the  light  of  reason ;  for  we  fully  agree  with 
them  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  even,  in  order  that  they 
may  retain  their  hold  upon  an  enlightened  age  as  special 
revelations  from  God  to  man,  must  stand  the  severest 
tests  of  reason ;  and  we  know  that,  when  interpreted  in 
accordance  with  the  grand  science  of  correspondences  be- 
tween natural  and  spiritual  things  revealed  through  Swe- 
denborg,  they  will  stand  the  test,  and  shine  brighter  and 
brighter  as  the  ages  roll  on ;  for  the  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions of  the  Creator  are  manifested  alike  in  His  Word  and 
works,  and  can  never  conflict  when  correctly  interpreted. 


WHAT   REVELATION   IS   PREFERABLE.  119 

Can  modern  Spiritualism  stand  the  tests  of  enlightened 
reason  ?     Let  us  see. 

If  this  life  is  but  the  beginning  of  an  endless  life,  it  is 
manifest  that  doctrines,  thoughts,  words,  and  acts,  which 
tend  to  subdue  our  evil  inclinations,  and  to  lead  us  to 
love  the  Lord  and  our  neighbor  supremely  are  of  first  im- 
portance, for  they  tend  to  unity  and  peace,  happiness  and 
heaven.  But  with  multitudes  to-day,  selfishness  and  sen- 
sualism rule,  and  they  must  be  born  again,  or  put  away 
their  supreme  selfishness,  and  come  to  act  from  higher 
motives,  or  it  is  manifest  that  they  can  never  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven ;  for  heaven  is  not  a  pen  or  place  into 
which  a  man  can  be  let  as  a  matter  of  favor.  Heavenly 
principles  must  rule  us  before  we  can  enter  the  gates  of 
the  celestial  city.  Now,  let  the  man  who  is  ruled  by 
either  the  selfish  love  of  power  or  money,  or  who  is  vain, 
licentious,  or  given  to  drunkenness,  jealousy,  or  envy,  seek 
communications  from  spirits,  and  what  is  the  inevitable 
resu.lt?  Please  remember,  like  attracts  like.  Being  swayed 
by  evil  motives,  his  associate  spirits  are  necessarily  evil, 
and  evil  spirits  are  in  false  doctrines,  therefore  they  deny 
the  divinity  of  the  .Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  they  hate  him; 
they  deny  the  necessity  for  regeneration,  in  fact  deny  that 
man  can  live  from  any  higher  motive  than  selfishness; 
and,  if  the  man  hearkens  to  them,  they  will  use  every 
effort  and  art  to  hold  him  in  his  present  state  of  life,  and 
to  destroy  all  reverence  for  the  Lord,  and  the  sacred 
Scriptures  as  special  revelations  from  Him ;  for,  if  the 
man  changes  for  the  better,  fhey  are  repelled  and  will  have 
to  leave  him.  Thus  by  seeking  and  hearkening  to  spirit- 
ual communications,  the  evil  or  unregenerate  man  con- 
firms himself  in  his  evil  loves ;  his  spirits  justifying  him 
by  every  seductive  argument  .  imaginable,  and  thus  even 
the  prospect  of  his  future  regeneration  is  materially  les- 
sened, if  not  actually  destroyed.  Could  a  greater  misfor- 
tune befall  an  evil  man  here  below,  than  this  ?  Again, 
supposing  a  man  has  commenced  living  a  new  life,  the 


120  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    LEVEL ATION. 

work  of  regeneration  is  not  accomplished  in  a  day;  but 
regeneration  results  from  the  warfare  of  a  lifetime.  Little 
by  little  are  his  evil  inclinations  and  thoughts  put  away; 
evil  inclinations  and  thoughts  are  prompted  by  evil  spirits, 
and  supposing  while  temporarily  harboring  such,  the  man 
seeks  and  heeds  communications  from  spirits,  these  evil 
spirits  will  necessarily  use  every  art  to  destroy  the  new 
resolutions  for  a  better  life  by,  as  rapidly  as  he  will  bear  it, 
denying  all  heavenly  doctrines,  and  confirming  him,  if 
possible,  in  his  evil  states.  Could  a  greater  misfortune 
befall  him  ?  Once  more,  there  are  three  heavens,  seen  and 
carefully  described  by  Swedenborg,  witbin  the  reach  of 
men,  and  whether  a  good  man  shall  reach  the  lowest, 
middle  or  highest,  depends  upon  the  progress  made  here 
in  the  regenerate  life.  Supposing  a  good  man,  in  a  good 
state,  seeks  communications  from  spirits.  His  associate 
spirits  are  no  better  than  he  is,  and  open  vision  with  them 
or  communicating  with  them  will  tend  to  fix  him  in  his 
present  state  of  life,  and  prevent  his  progress  towards  a 
higher  life ;  thus  checking  the  great  work  of  regeneration. 
How  serious  the  injury  to  the  man! 

But  there  is  another  view  in  the  case  of  good  men,  or 
of  those  who  reverence  the  Lord  and  His  Word  and 
who  are  striving  to  lead  a  good  life  in  accordance  with 
the  Divine  commands,  seeking  such  communications. 
They  have  the  Divine  warnings  sounding  in  their  ears, 
and  are  consequently  reasonably  sure  to  have  conscien- 
tious scruples  when  they  seek  such  communications;  and 
if  so,  they  are,  it  would  seen*,  almost  necessarily  brought 
in  contact  with  evil  spirits.  The  Christian,  therefore, 
who,  from  the  stand-point  of  a  distinct  recognition  of 
the  Lord  and  of  Divine  revelation,  goes  away  into  Spirit- 
ualism, and  seeks  communications  from  spirits,  must  run 
a  fearful  risk ;  and  have  we  not  good  reason  to  fear,  that 
he  will  fall  to  rise  no  more  forever  ?  Whilst  for  those  who 
have  little  or  no  reverence  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
for  the  sacred  Scriptures,  there  may  be  far  less  danger  and 


WHAT   REVELATION   IS   PREFERABLE.  121 

comparatively  little  barm  from  their  seeking  such  inter- 
course, as  they  do  not  profane  holy  things.  In  fact,  thou- 
sands of  skeptics  and  naturalists  have  been  convinced  that 
they  are  to  live  after  death,  by  the  phenomena  of  Spiritual- 
ism; and  finding  the  communications  entirely  unreliable 
and  unsatisfactory,  have  turned  to  Divine  revelation,  and 
to  tho  Lord,  and  thus  have  been  led  into  the  Lord's  church. 
Here  then  is  a  use  which  Spiritualism  is  performing  for 
many  earnest  seekers  after  truth ;  and  perhaps  this  may 
be  one  of  the  reasons  why  it  is  permitted  by  the  Lord. . 
But,  oh,  how  unwise  is  the  man  who  rests  satisfied  with 
the  phenomena  and  revelations  of  Spiritualism,  when 
they  should  lead  him  up  to  the  feast  of  fat  things,  and  wine 
on  the  lees,  or  to  the  spiritual  good  and  truths  revealed  by 
our  Heavenly  Father  in  the  Divine  Word,  and  in  the 
writings  for  the  New  Jerusalem  ! 

The  following  statements  by  Swedenborg  appeal  to  our 
highest  reason:  "Good  spirits  and  angels,"  he  says,  never 
induce  any  dogmatic  principle  of  religion,  "  for  the  Lord 
alone  teaches  a  man,  though  mediately,  through  the  Word 
inv illumination."  "  Nor  do  they  say  anything  which  takes 
away  the  freedom  of  reason,"  such  as  dictating  or  attempt- 
ing to  control  his  actions,  for  this  would  impair  his  man- 
hood if  he  were  to  obey  such  dictations;  only  evil  spirits 
attempt  such  interferences  with  man's  freedom  and 
reason. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  ask  the  reader  if  enlightened 
reason,  and  even  the  common  sense  with  which  God  has 
endowed  man,  do  not  condemn  in  the  most  earnest  and 
positive  manner  the  seeking  of  open  intercourse  with 
spirits,  or  the  obtaining  communications  from  them? 
The  sacred  Scriptures,  as  interpreted  in  the  writings  of 
Swedenborg,  reveal  to  us  a  knowledge  of  a  higher  and 
nobler  life  than  it  is  possible  for  our  associate  spirits  to 
comprehend  or  unfold  to  us ;  and  if  any  one  is  anxious  or 
curious  for  a  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  world,  or  of 
spirits,  or  even  of  modern  Spiritualism,  according  to  the 


122  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

best  of  our  judgment,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the 
whole  subject,  he  can  only  obtain  reliable  information  by 
reading  the  writings  of  the  Swedish  seer.  For  him  the 
Lord  had  a  special  mission ;  he  sought  it  not,  but  he  was 
called  to  it  by  the  Lord  Himself,  and  he  cheerfully  forsook 
his  scientific  and  worldly  pursuits,  and,  guided  by  the 
Lord  and  His  angels,  he  devoted  his  life  and  means  to 
writing  and  circulating  his  works.  How  important  was 
his  mission,  if  a  reverence  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or 
even  for  a  personal  God  and  His  Word,  is  to  remain  with 
men,  Spiritualism  is  now  making  manifest  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  Naturalism  or  Scientism  in  another. 

In  a  small  work  on  "  Intercourse  between  the  Soul  and 
Body/'  Swedenborg  says:  "That  there  is  a  spiritual  world 
in  which  are  spirits  and  angels,  distinct  from  the  natural 
world  in  which  men  are,  has  hitherto  been  deeply  hidden, 
even  in  the  Christian  world.  The  reason  is,  because  no 
angel  has  descended  and  declared  it,  and  no  man  has 
ascended  and  seen  it.  Lest,  therefore,  from  ignorance 
concerning  that  world,  and  the  uncertain  faith  concerning 
Heaven  and  Hell  that  results  from  such  ignorance,  man 
should  be  infatuated  to  such  a  degree  as  to  become  an 
atheistic  naturalist,  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to  open  the 
sight  of  my  spirit,  and  to  elevate  it  into  Heaven,  and  also 
to  let  it  down  into  Hell,  and  to  exhibit  to  its  view  the 
quality  of  each.  It  is  thence  manifest  to  me  that  there 
are  two  worlds  which  are  distinct  from  each  other ;  one  in 
which  all  things  are  spiritual,  which  is  thence  called  the 
spiritual  world,  and  another  in  which  all  things  are 
natural,  which  is  thence  called  the  natural  world;  and 
spirits  and  angels  live  in  their  own  world,  and  men  in 
theirs ;  and  also  that  every  man  passes  by  death  from 
his  own  world  into  the  other,  and  lives  therein  to 
eternity." 

Writing  within  a  few  years  after  the  opening  of  his 
spiritual  sight,  he  said :  "  For  several  years  I  have  now 
almost  continuously  conversed  with  spirits  and  angels, 


APPEAL  TO   SPIRITUALISTS.  123 

and  they  with  me.  In  this  manner  I  have  been  instructed 
respecting  the  state  of  souls  after  death ;  respecting  the 
divers  sorts  of  spirits  who  seduce  man ;  respecting  Hell, 
and  its  various  and  cruel  afflictions  and  punishments ; 
respecting  the  heavens  and  the  felicity  of  the  souls  which 
are  there ;  respecting  true  faith  and  the  interior  senses/' 

The  Lord  punishes  no  one,  but  evil  carries  with  it  its 
own  punishment  in  that  world  as  it  does  in  this.  From 
the  doing  of  evil  suffering  inevitably  results — evil  the 
cause,  suffering  the  effect.  Hell-fire  is  self-love  perverted. 


XXI. 

An  Appeal  to  Spiritualists  in  behalf  of  the 
Writings  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

(A  LARGE    PORTION   OF  THIS    SECTION  WAS    FIRST  WRITTEN  FOR 
AND  PUBLISHED  IN    "  THE  BANNER  OF  LIGHT/') 

~YT"7~E  ask  of  you,  fellow-citizens,  children  of  the  same 
V  V  Heavenly  Father,  journeying  toward  the  mansions 
of  the  spiritual  world,  to  lay  aside  for  a  few  moments — 
if  you  are  troubled  with  any  such  infirmities — prejudice, 
preconceived  opinions,  and  the  spirit  of  sect  or  party — a 
very  difficult  thing,  we  know,  for  most  men  to  do — and  to 
consider  for  a  short  time  the  claims  of  the  Swedish  seer  to 
your  attention,  and  compare  them  with  those  of  modern 
seers  and  mediums,  and  then  judge  for  yourselves.  For 
the  truth  we  should  all  seek,  for  the  truth  alone  can  make 
us  free  from  the  mistakes  of  ignorance,  the  snares  of 
bigotry  and  sectarianism,  and  the  dominion  of  evil.  It  is 
of  no  moment  to  us  that  we  should  be  able  to  confirm 
ourselves  in  our  present  views;  for,  although  it  should 
gratify  our  vanity,  it  might  do  us  great  harm  ;  but  it  is  of 
vast  moment  that  we  should  seek  and  find  the  truth,  and 
be  able  to  see  truth  in  the  light  of  truth,  and  to  live  in 
accordance  with  it.  Those  truths  and  that  system  of 
truth  are  the  most  important  to  us  which  will  lead  us  to 


124  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

the  best  and  highest  life.  It  is  a  glorious  maxim  which 
Swedenborg  proclaimed  when  he  declared  that  "All  re- 
ligion has  relation  to  life,  and  the  life  of  religion  is  to  do 
good."  It  is  not  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  controversy,  which 
is  latent  in  every  man,  that  we  write  these  pages,  for  such 
a  spirit  judges  and  condemns  opposite  views  before  it 
understands  them ;  no  seeker  after  truth  should  do  this, 
and  no  truly  wise  man  will  do  it, 

Emanuel  Swedenborg,  the  seer,  a  native  of  Sweden,  lived 
and  wrote  the  wonderful  revelations  contained  in  his 
writings  about  a  century  ago.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  philosophers  of  his  day;  well  and  thoroughly 
educated  in  his  youth,  he  devoted  his  life  and  best  energies 
to  philosophical  pursuits,  and  the  application  of  scientific 
principles  to  the  mining  and  business  affairs  of  his  native 
land.  He  wrote  extensively  on  the  economy  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  and  the  animal  and  mineral  kingdoms,  and  a 
goodly  number  of  his  philosophical  works  have  within  a 
few  years  been  translated  into  English,  and  are  found  to 
contain  the  germs  of  many  of  the  discoveries  of  a  latei 
date.  His  writings  show  that  he  was  accustomed  to  ob- 
serve closely  and  watch  patiently  and  carefully,  and  to 
draw  rational  conclusions  from  the  operations  of  Nature, 
With  a  mind  thus  trained  and  disciplined  by  study,  and 
an  active  life  of  usefulness,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years 
he  commenced  his  spiritual  writings ;  and  for  over  twenty- 
seven  years  he  claimed  to  have  open  intercourse  with  the 
spiritual  world;  to  see  and  converse  with  spirits  and 
angels  face  to  face,  as  man  converses  with  his  fellow-man 
here,  and  that  daily,  not  in  a  state  of  sleep,  but  of  most 
perfect  wakefulness;  claims  which,  when  we  consider 
their  length,  breadth  and  duration,  no  other  man  does  or 
ever  has  made,  or  can  make  with  any  show  of  justice. 
Although  written  a  century  ago,  long  before  the  appear- 
ance of  modern  Spiritualism,  there  is  scarcely  a  phase  of 
the  latter  which  is  not  noticed  and  described  in  his  writ- 
ings, and  of  much  of  it,  the  underlying  philosophy  is 


APPEAL  TO   SPIRITUALISTS.  125 

given ;  yes,  far  more  than  this,  the  most  wonderful  events, 
even  revolutionary  changes,  are  carefully  described  as  they 
occurred  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  were  witnessed  by 
him  at  the  time  he  wrote ;  and  whole  kingdoms  in  the 
spiritual  world  are  described,  of  which  modern  mediums 
as  a  general  rule  evidently  know  little  and  have  appar- 
ently seen  less.  He  declares  that  he  witnessed  the  Last 
Judgment  in  the  world  of  spirits  in  the  year  1757,  and  he 
has  given  us  a  careful  description  of  the  same.  What  has 
astonished  us  more  than  anything  else,  is  the  apathy  and 
neglect  with  which  the  writings  of  this  grand  old  seer 
have  been  regarded  by  the  great  mass  of  Spiritualists;  and 
affectionately  and  earnestly  to  call  their  attention  to  them, 
is  our  sole  object  in  writing  this  section. 

Even  the  sectarian  enemies  of  Swedenborg  have  never 
questioned  his  intelligence,  his  honesty  or  truthfulness, 
for  his  life  was  blameless;  with  them  he  was  insane,  or  a 
visionary,  who  was  himself  deceived  by  his  imagination. 
No  intelligent  Spiritualist  should  or  can  for  a  moment 
justly  harbor  such  objections  without  first  reading  his 
writings,  for  to  do  so  would  be  to  condemn  his  own  faith, 
and  justify  the  blind  opponents  of  that  faith  in  their  oppo- 
sition to  it.  A  man  should  not  oppose  without  being  able 
to  give  a  reason. 

In  one  respect — to  which  we  desire  especially  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  reader  at  this  point — Swedenborg  stands 
out  boldly  as  the  prince  of  seers.  The  son  of  a  clergyman, 
reared  and  educated  in  an  orthodox  church,  busy  with 
literary  and  scientific  pursuits  up  to  the  very  hour  of  the 
opening  of  his  spiritual  vision,  we  would  reasonably  have 
expected  that  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  and  preconceived 
ideas,  would  have  colored  his  writings  and  revelations ; 
but  in  many  respects  his  doctrines  are  not  in  harmony 
with  those  in  which  he  was  educated,  or  with  those  which 
prevailed  at  the  time  he  wrote  in  the  religious  world 
around  him.  The  doctrines  inculcated  in  his  writings  do 
not  agree  with  those  in  very  many  particulars,  and  Swe- 


128  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

denborg  expressly  teaches  that  the  First  Christian  Church 
had  come  to  its  end  through  evi]s  of  life  and  a  falsification 
of  doctrines.  How  wonderful  that  a  man  should  be  able 
to  so  perfectly  lay  aside  his  preconceived  ideas,  and  to  sink 
himself,  as  it  were  !  And  although  he  spent  his  time  and 
money  freely  in  writing,  printing,  and  circulating  his 
works,  he  did  it  anonymously  until  near  the  close  of  his 
life,  when,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  friends,  his 
name  was  published  on  the  title-page  of  the  "  True  Chris- 
tian Religion/'  simply :  "  By  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  servant 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  He  did  not  desire  men  to 
receive  the  revelations  made  through  and  by  him  on  his 
authority,  but  they  were  to  be  received  because  they  are 
perceived  to  be  true.  Such  were  his  views. 

No  man  who  has  ever  read  Swedenborg's  writings  can, 
for  a  moment,  question  but  that,  if  there  is  any  truth  in 
Spiritualism,  or  if  any  man  has  ever  had  intercourse  with 
spirits  and  the  spiritual  world,  either  recently  or  in  the 
Bible  days,  Swedenborg  surely  had;  and  it  would  seem 
that  his  writings  are  entitled  to  a  respectful  consideration 
from  every  one,  especially  from  Spiritualists.  A  philoso- 
pher by  nature  and  long  practice  in  the  natural  sciences, 
even  his  spiritual  writings  are  philosophical  and  beauti- 
ful beyond  comparison  ;  order  and  system  reign  supreme. 
The  laws  of  the  spiritual  world ;  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead ;  the  state  of  man  after  death ;  the  association  of 
spirits  with  men;  spiritual  vision  and  conversing  with 
spirits;  the  relation  which  the  deeds  of  this  life  have  to 
the  state  of  man  after  the  death  of  the  body;  spiritual  in- 
flux, and  the  correspondence  between  natural  and  spiritual 
things — are  all  explained,  illustrated,  and  demonstrated 
with  a  power  and  force  which,  it  is  safe  to  say,  have  never 
been  surpassed  or  even  equalled  in  any  particular;  and 
which  have  in  the  past  carried,  and  are  to-day  carrying, 
conviction  to  the  minds  of  thousands  who  have  never  wit- 
nessed any  of  the  spiritual  manifestations.  No  attentive 
reader  of  his  writings  doubts  the  possibility  of  spiritual  in- 


APPEAL  TO   SPIRITUALISTS.  127 

tercourse,  or  that  many  of  the  present  manifestations  are 
from  spirits,  for  they  most  wonderfully  confirm  his  state- 
ments of  rthe  laws  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  of  spiritual 
intercourse. 

Many  of  you,  at  first  sight,  may  be  disappointed  at  the 
ideas  which  he  proclaimed;  but  you  will  find  many  of 
them  new,  and  all  of  them  worthy  of  the  most  serious 
consideration.  With  Swedenborg  a  personal  God  is  the 
centre,  and  special  revelations  from  Him,  or  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  are  the  ladder  let  down  from  Heaven  to  earth, 
on  which  the  angels  ascend  and  descend  to  man.  Modern 
Spiritualists  too  frequently  ignore  a  personal  God,  and  all 
special  revelations  from  God. 

In  the  science  of  correspondences,  revealed  through 
Swedenborg,  we  have  the  key  for  the  rational  interpre- 
tation of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  so  that  we  can  know  that 
they  are  revelations  from  God,  for  we  can  intellectually 
see  that  the  interpretation  is  true.  In  the  light  of  this 
newly  revealed  science  the  skeptic  is  disarmed,  and  revela- 
tion and  reason,  the  Bible  and  science,  are  reunited ;  and 
God  is  shown  or  clearly  manifested  in  the  person  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  in  the  Son.  As  we  have 
already  intimated,  in  a  previous  section,  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  the  Bible  will  be  reverenced  as  it  never  has 
been  before,  as  men  begin  more  and  more  clearly  to  see 
that  the  letter,  which  to-day  killeth,'is  but  the  covering 
or  clouds  for  the  spirit  which  giveth  life,  and  that  God's 
Word  differs  as  much  from  the  words  of  man,  as  God's 
works  do  from  the  works  of  men. 

Even  Nature  can  never  be  fully  understood,  so  long  as 
this  "science  of  all  sciences"  is  not  recognized.  Our 
scientific  men  are  too  many  of  them  wandering  on  in  the 
dark,  ignoring  the  world  of  causes,  or  the  spiritual  side  of 
nature ;  but  it  will  not  always  be  so. 

In  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  we  are  taught  that  love 
to  the  Lord  and  neighbor  constitute  heaven,  and  love  of 
self  and  the  world  constitute  hell ;  therefore,  man  being 


128  SKEPTICISM   AND    DIVINE    REVELATION. 

born  into  selfish  natural  affections,  must  be  born  again 
before  he  can  enter  Heaven ;  in  other  words,  by  shunning 
evils  as  sins  against  God,  and  living  a  life  according  to 
His  commandments,  the  old  ruling  selfish  loves  must  be 
subdued,  and  heavenly  affections  take  their  place.  Spirit- 
ualism generally  teaches  progression  instead  of  spiritual 
regeneration ;  and  too  many  of  its  advocates  deny  the 
necessity  for  regeneration.  With  Swedenborg  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  corner-stone  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem, and  a  special  providence  is  clearly  and  beautifully 
taught,  whereas  Spiritualists,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
deny  the  divinity  of  the  Lord,  and  all  special  provi- 
dence. 

If  Spiritualists  would  either  understand  the  signs  of  the 
times,  or  obtain  reliable  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  world, 
let  them  read  Swedenborg's  writings;  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  all  men  should  not  read  them,  as  increasing 
thousands  are  doing.  God's  truth,  like  the  light  of  the 
natural  sun,  is  free  to  all.  The  idea  of  a  new  revelation 
from  the  Lord  sounds  strangely  to  the  man  steeped  in 
naturalism,  and  to  the  bigot,  although  the  Lord  promised 
a  second  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven — not  of  earth ; 
but  it  should  not  to  Spiritualists.  Was  there  ever  a  greater 
need  of  a  revelation  of  genuine  spiritual  truth  than  at  this 
day,  when  the  simple  precepts  of  the  Gospels  have  been 
made  of  non-effect  by  the  doctrines  and  traditions  of  men, 
Until  multitudes  are  expecting  to  escape  the  consequences 
of  an  evil  life  by  a  simple  act  of  faith  or  belief,  instead  of 
expecting  to  reap  what  they  have  sown  ?  Has  the  Lord 
forgotten  His  children  ?  Lo  !  He  comes  to  the  Christian 
world  in  an  unexpected  hour  and  manner,  as  he  came  at 
the  end  of  the  Jewish  dispensation.  Does  He  find  faith 
on  earth?  Let  those  who  are  watching  for  the  morning, 
judge. 

In  concluding  this  appeal  we  will  say,  that  if  you  will 
carefully  read  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  we  can  but  feel 
that  you  will  be  satisfied  that  he  was  selected  by  the  Lord, 


NEW  JERUSALEM   DOCTRIXE3. — GOD.  129 

as  a  man  through  whom  he  could  reveal  to  men  the 
science  of  correspondences,  the  spiritual  sense  of  His 
Word  in  accordance  with  this  science,  true  doctrines;  or 
the  truths  of  His  Second  Coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven ; 
together  with  the  actual  state  of  man  in  the  spiritual 
world.  And  you  will  be  further  satisfied  that  Sweden- 
borg  was  permitted  by  the  Lord  to  enjoy  privileges  such  as 
no  other  man  has  ever  enjoyed,  and  such  as  we  have  good 
reason  to  expect  that  no  other  man  will  enjoy  for  many 
centuries  to  come,  at  least. 

You  can  hardly  fail  to  be  satisfied  that  the  revelations 
made  through  Swedenborg  are  immeasurably  better  calcu- 
lated to  benefit  man,  and  elevate  our  race,  than  are  the 
revelations  and  phenomena  of  modern  Spiritualism. 

XXII. 
Doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem.— God. 

r  I  ^HAT  there  is  but  one  God,  in  one  Divine  person, 
_1-  is  clearly  taught  in  the  first  commandment,  and 
throughout  the  sacred  Scriptures,  when  they  are  correctly 
understood.  When  the  Divine  declaration  was  made: 
"Hear,  0  Israel,  Jehovah  our  God  is  one  Jehovah,"  it 
was  not  a  truth  then  for  the  first  time  revealed  ;  for  it  was 
well  known  by  the  Most  Ancient  or  Adamic  Church,  and 
also  by  the  Ancient  or  Noachian  Church,  that  there  is  but 
one  God ;  and,  as  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  have 
descended  from  the  members  of  those  ancient  churches, 
some  knowledge  of  this  grand  central  truth,  more  or  less 
obscured  by  the  doctrines  of  men,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
earliest  religious  or  sacred  writings  and  traditions  of  all 
nations. 

This  one  God  is  thus  described  in  the  Vedahs :  " '  Per- 
fect truth ;  perfect  happiness ;  without  equal ;  immortal ; 
absolute  unity;  whom  neither  speech  can  describe,  nor 
mind  comprehend;  all-pervading;  all-transcending;  * 
*  *  understanding  all.  Without  cause,  the  first  of  all 


130  SKEPTICISM   AND    DIVINE    LEVELATION. 

causes ;  all-ruling ;  all-powerful ;  the  Creator,  Preserver. 
Transformer  of  all  things;  such  is  the  Great  One,  BRAHM.' 
This  is  in  reality  no  other  than  a  paraphrase  of  the 
( I  AM;'  but,  says  Mr.  Squier,  'The  supreme  God  of  Gods 
of  the  Hindus  was  less  frequently  expressed  by  the  name 
BRAHM  than  by  the  mystical  syllable  O'M,  which  corres- 
ponds to  the  Hebrew  JEHOVAH  '  (or  AM).  The  same 
Divine  Being,  as  to  His  infinite  and  eternal  essence,  is 
described  on  Egyptian  monuments,  and  in  the  Hermetic 
books,  as  KKEPH,  'the  first  [or  inmost  quality  of]  God, 
immovable  in  the  solitude  of  His  Unity,  the  fountain  of 
all  things,  the  root  of  all  primary,  intelligible,  existing 
forms,  the  God  of  Gods.'  The  same  idea  prevailed  among 
all  the  Scandinavian  nations ;  and  in  the  ancient  Icelandic 
mythology  He  is  called  'the  author  of  everything  that 
existeth ;  the  Eternal,  the  Ancient,  the  Living,  the  Awful 
Being,  the  Searcher  into  concealed  things,  the  Being  that 
never  changeth.'  By  the  ancient  Mexicans  He  is  called 
the  'Creator  of  Light,'  the  'Giver  of  Life/  the  God  of 
battles  or  '  God  of  Hosts,'  the  '  Almighty,' etc.  Also  as 
the  'Supreme  Lord  of  the  Universe;  the  Disposer,  and 
Ordainer  of  all  things ;  the  Confounder  of  His  enemies, 
the  Bestower  of  Wisdom,  the  Father  of  mankind,' "  etc. 

The  Ancient  Druids  taught  that  "  There  is  but  One 
Supreme  Being,  the  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  Universe, 
of  an  eternal,  mysterious,  and  immaterial  nature,  which 
pervades  all  space.  In  Him  consists  the  plenitude  of  life, 
knowledge,  power,  and  love,  which  are  sources  of  all  His 
actions  and  dispensations.  These  being  in  themselves 
most  beneficial  and  harmonious,  necessarily  tend  to  anni- 
hilate the  power  of  evil,  and  bring  man  to  everlasting 
happiness." 

With  the  North  American  Indian  are  found  the  remains 
of  this  doctrine,  for  he  worships  the  Great  Spirit,  the  Cre- 
ator of  all  things  on  earth,  and  the  "  beautiful  hunting- 
grounds  "  to  which  his  fathers  have  gone. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  all  this  knowl- 


NEW   JERUSALEM   DOCTRINES. — GOD.  131 

1  edge  of  God  has  come  from  revelations  from  God,  made  in 
the  early  ages  of  the  world,  and  is  not  of  human  invention 
or  discovery.  "  Revelation/'  says  Rev.  John  Hyde,  "  must 
reveal  God  and  explain  man.  Nature  does  not  teach  the 
existence  of  God.  That  is,  the  origin  of  the  idea  is  not 
attributable  to  the  nature  of  the  universe,  or  the  nature  of 
man.  Nature  is  the  plane  of  effects,  not  of  causes.  The 
jconsideration  of  effects  can  carry  us  no  higher  than  effects, 
the  first  effect  and  the  final  natural  cause.  The  idea  of 
God's  existence  being  known,  nature  can  abundantly  fur- 
nish man  with  illustrations  of  Divine  operation,  and 
proofs  of  the  Divine  continuance.  Atheists  assert  them- 
selves careful  students  of  nature,  and  in  spite  of  the  exist- 
ence and  predominance  of  the  idea  among  men,  they 
testify  that  nature  does  not  teach  or  communicate  it.  Yet 
it  is.  The  idea  exists.  If  nature  taught  it,  they  say 
nature  taught  a  lie.  If  nature  did  not  teach  it,  and  could 
not  teach  it,  it  must  have  been  taught  of  revelation. 
Admit  their  testimony,  and  we  must  deny  their  conclu- 
sion. But  all  will  admit  that  if  God  communicates  a 
revelation,  he  must  reveal  HIMSELF.  Nature  does  not 
teach  the  object  or  the  destiny  of  man's  existence.  The 
cradle  and  the  grave  are  its  limitations,  the  twin  bounda- 
ries that  circumscribe  our  being.  If  a  revelation  be  given, 
it  must  transcend  external  and  visible  nature,  and  teach 
us  wisdom  on  ^;?0r-natural  subjects.  These  must  be  the 
themes  which  it  will  treat,  and  subordinate  to  these 
themes  must  every  statement,  every  precept,  every  narra- 
tive be.  If  God  has  given  a  revelation  of  Himself,  of 
man's  nature,  and  of  man's  destiny,  this  Revelation  must l 
as  evidently  be  the  Word  of  God.  as  external  nature  is  the 
Work  of  God." 

If  now  we  return  to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  we  shall  find 
the  unity  of  God  most  clearly  and  beautifully  taught;  and 
also  that  He  is  our  Saviour,  and  the  Being  whom  we  are 
to  love  supremely ;  for  the  following  command  is  given  by 
this  one  God:  "Thou  shalt  have  none  other  gods  before 


132  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 


me;"  and  again  in  the  sixth  chapter  and  fifth  verse  of 
Deuteronomy:  "And  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  might."  That  this  one  God  is  our  Saviour,  is  abun- 
dantly taught  in  almost  innumerable  passages  in  the  Old; 
Testament,  as  in  the  following,  in  the  forty-third  chapter 
of  Isaiah:  ".Thus  saith  the  Lord  that  created  thee,  0 
Jacob,  and  He  that  formed  thee,  0  Israel,  fear  not;  for  I 
have  redeemed  thee."  "For  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Saviour."  "  Before  me  there  was- 
no  God  formed,  neither  shall  there  be  after  me.  I,  even  I, 
am  the  Lord;  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Saviour.".  In 
the  forty-ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  read,  "  That  all  flesh; 
may  know  that  I  Jehovah  am  thy  Saviour,  and  thy  Re-j 
deemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Jacob."  Also  in  the  forty-fifth] 
chapter:  "There  is  no  God  else  beside  me,  a  just  God  and! 
a  Saviour,  there  is  none  beside  me.  Look  unto  me,  andj 
be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth :  for  I  am  God,  ana 
there  is  none  else."  In  the  third  chapter  of  Second  Sam- 
uel, we  read :  "  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and  my  fortress,  ancS 
my  deliverer;  the  God  of  my  rock;  in  Him  will  I  trust; 
He  is  my  shield,  and  the  horn  of  my  salvation,  my  high] 
tower,  and  my  refuge,  my  Saviour."  In  the  nineteenth 
Psalm  will  be  found  the  following :  "  Let  the  words  of  m jj 
mouth,  and  the  meditation  of  my  heart  be  acceptable  in 
thy  sight,  0  Lord,  my  strength  and  my  Eedeemer;"  and 
in  the  one  hundred  and  thirtieth  Psalm  we  read:  "  Letj 
Israel  hope  in  the  Lord ;  for  with  the  Lord  there  is  mercyj 
and  with  Him  is  plenteous  redemption,  and  he  shall 
redeem  Israel  from  all  his  iniquities;"  and  in  the  thiiN 
teenth  chapter  of  Hosea :  "  Yet  am  I  the  Lord  thy  God 
from  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  thou  shalt  know  no  God  buii 
me,  for  there  is  no  Saviour  beside  me." 

We  have  quoted  comparatively  few  of  the  numerous! 
passages  which  clearly  teach  us  that  there  is  but  one  God] 
and  that  He  is  our  Saviour,  and  that  there  is  no  othei 
Saviour.  And  in  the  eighth  verse  of  the  forty-second 


THE   IKCAKNATION".  133 

chapter  of  Isaiah,  He  distinctly  declares :  "  I  am  the  Lord : 
that  is  my  name :  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  an- 
other." 

But  we  have  predictions  in  the  Old  Testament  of  the 
coming  of  a  Saviour,  and  all  Christians  acknowledge,  that 
in  the  person  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  those  predictions 
were  fulfilled.  Let  us  inquire  then,  whether  the  Jehovah, 
or  Lord  and  Saviour,  of  the  Old  Testament  is  the  Saviour 
of  the  New  Testament,  or  whether  He  has  given  His  glory 
to  another,  contrary  to  His  express  declaration.  In  order 
to  settle  satisfactorily  this  point  we  shall  need  to  examine 
the  prophecies  in  regard  to  the  coming  of  the  Saviour  into 
the  world. 

XXIII. 

The  Incarnation. 

' '  I)  TIT,"  say  some,  "  it  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Nature 
IJ  for  a  child  to  be  born  without  a  natural  father," 
and  thus,  without  further  consideration,  they  decide  the 
question.  *If  it  were  certain  that  they  understood  all  the 
laws  of  nature,  their  conclusion  would  be  reasonable,  and 
undoubtedly  correct;  for  we  do  not  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  the  Lord  violates  His  own  laws.  But,  in  the  light  of 
known  and  acknowledged  facts,  let  us  examine  this  ques- 
tion. Science  shows  conclusively  that  the  time  has  been 
when  no  man  or  animal  lived  on  this  earth,  and  now  it  is 
peopled  with  men  of  various  races,  and  there  are  also 
a  great  variety  of  animals.  It  follows  that  not  only  man, 
but  a  pair — a  male  and  a  female — (and  perhaps  several  of 
them)  were  actually  created  without  either  a  natural 
father  or  mother:  now,  if  the  above  objection  to  the  idea 
of  the  Incarnation  holds  good,  what  a  tremendous  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature  there  was  in  the  creation  of  the 
first  pair — four  times  as  great  at  least  as  the  incarnation 
of  the  Lord  by  a  natural  mother.  It  matters  not  whether 
man  was  originally  created  in  the  human  form,  or  was 


134  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

gradually  developed  from  the  lower  forms  of  animal  life, 
the  creation  of  the  first  pair  of  animals,  however  low  in 
the  scale,  without  natural  parents,  was  as  much  a  violation 
of  the  laws  of  nature,  as  the  creation  of  the  human  body 
in  the  present  form.  But,  for  ourselves,  we  can  see  no 
good  reason  why  man  was  not  created  in  the  human  form ; 
for  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  what  we  know  of  "the 
Laws  of  Nature "  to  suppose  that  either  men  or  animals 
were  created  full  grown;  and  man  commences  from  a 
point  or  cell  as  small  as  many  of  the  animals.  But  the 
origin  of  man,  or  how  he  was  created,  is  a  question  foreign 
to  our  present  inquiry;  and  as  the  Lord  has  not  revealed 
to  us  the  ultimate  truths  of  Natural  Science,  we  shall 
(Jteave  this  question  to  scientists  to  investigate  and  specu- 
_ate  over  to  their  hearts'  content,  and  if  they  ever  deter- 
mine it  to  the  satisfaction  of  our  reason,  we  shall  accept 
their  conclusions  without  any  hesitation,  for  we  shall  ever 
strive  not  to  let  preconceived  ideas  stand  between  us  and 
the  truth. 

That  a  son  should  have  been  born  of  Jewish  parents — 
and  illegitimate  at  that,  and  thus  inheriting  *  specially  a 
tendency  to  the  violation  of  the  most  sacred  relation  of 
life — who,  at  the  age  of  about  thirty  years,  should  be 
able  to  proclaim  such  precepts  of  life  as  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  did,  and  set  such  an  example  of  meekness,  for- 
bearance, and  good- will,  would  certainly  have  been  a  far 
greater  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  or  of  hereditary 
transmission  of  inclinations,  than  was  the  Incarnation  of 
the  Lord. 

We  think,  then,  we  may  safely  and  absolutely  dismiss 
the  objection,  that  the  Incarnation  was  a  violation  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  as  not  worthy  of  further  consideration ; 
but  in  doing  this  we  cheerfully,  admit  that  there  certainly 
are  some  laws  of  nature  which  we  do  not  fully  understand, 
and  others  of  which  we  know  very  little. 


THE   I^CAKtfATKW.  135 


WHY  THE   LORD   CAME   TO   THIS   EARTH. 

The  second  objection  which  we  hear  against  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Incarnation,  is  :  "When  we  behold  the  bound- 
less extent  of  creation,  the  innumerable  worlds  which  exist, 
many  of  which  at  least  we  have  every  reason  to  think  are 
peopled  by  human  beings,  is  jt  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  Lord  selected  and  came  down  to  this  little  insignifi- 
cant world  of  ours  to  be  Incarnated,  to  the  neglect  of  all 
others  ?"  This  at  first  sight  would  seem  to  be  a  serious 
objection,  but  it  is  very  satisfactorily  answered  in  the 
revelations  made  by  the  Lord  through  Emanuel  Sweden- 
borg,  as  follows  : 

"  There  are-many  reasons  why  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  be 
born  and  to  assume  the  Human  on  our  earth  and  not  on 
another,  concerning  which  I  have  been  informed  from 
heaven.  The  principal  reason  was  for  the  sake  of  the 
Word,  that  this  might  be  written  in  our  earth,  and  being 
written  might  be  published  throughout  the  whole  earth, 
and  once  published  might  be  preserved  to  all  posterity ; 
and  that  thus  it  might  be  made  manifest,  even  to  all  in 
the  other  life,  that  God  was  made  Man.  That  the  prin- 
cipal reason  was  for  the  sake  of  the  Word,  was  because  the 
Word  is  the  very  Divine  truth,  which  teaches  man  that 
there  is  a  God,  that  there  is  a  heaven,  that  there  is  a  hell, 
and  that  there  is  a  life  after  death ;  and  teaches,  moreover, 
how  he  ought  to  live  and  believe  that  he  may  come  into 
heaven  and  thus  be  happy  to  eternity.  All  these  things 
without  revelation — thus  on  this  earth  without  the 
Word — would  have  been  entirely  unknown;  and  yet  man 
is  so  created  that  as  to  his  internal  man  he  cannot  die. 
The  Word  could  be  written  on  our  earth,  because  from  a 
very  ancient  time  the  art  of  writing  has  existed  here,  first 
on  tablets  of  wood,  then  on  parchments,  afterwards  on 
paper,  and  finally  (writing  came)  to  be  published  by  types. 
This  was  provided  of  the  Lord  for  the  sake  of  the  Word. 
*  *  *  The  Word  once  written  could  be  preserved  to 


136  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

all  posterity,  even  for  thousands  and  thousands  of  years ; 
and  it  is  known  that  it  has  been  so  preserved.  It  could 
thus  be  made  known  that  God  became  Man ;  for  this  is 
the  first  and  most  essential  thing  for  which  the  Word  was 
given.  For  no  one  can  believe  in  a  God,  and  love  a  God, 
whom  he  cannot  have  a  conception  of  under  some  form; 
wherefore  they  who  acknowledge  what  is  incomprehensible 
glide  in  thought  into  nature,  and  so  believe  in  no  God. 
For  this  reason  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  be  born  here,  and 
to  make  this  evident  by  the  Word;  in  order  not  only  that 
it  might  be  made  known  on  this  globe,  but  also  that 
thereby  it  might  be  made  manifest  to  all  in  the  universe  ( 
who  from  any  other  earth  whatsoever  come  into  heaven ; 
for  in  heaven  there  is  a  communication  of  all  things.  It 
should  be  known  that  the  Word  on  our  earth,  given 
through  heaven  by  the  Lord,  is  the  union  of  heaven  and 
the  world — for  which  end  there  is  a  correspondence  of  all 
things  in  the  letter  of  the  Word  with  Divine  things  in 
heaven;  and  that  the  Word  in  its  highest  and  inmost 
sense  treats  of  the  Lord,  of  His  kingdom  in  the  heavens 
and  on  the  earths,  and  of  love  and  faith  from  Him  and  in 
Him,  therefore  of  life  from  Him  and  in  Him.  Such 
things  are  presented  to  the  angels  in  heaven,  from  what- 
soever earth  they  are,  when  the  Word  of  our  earth  is  read 
and  preached.  *  *  *  It  should  be  known  that  the  Lord 
acknowledges  and  receives  all,  from  whatsoever  earth  they  , 
are,  who  acknowledge  and  worship  God  under  the  human 
form;  since  God  under  the  human  form  is  the  Lord. 
And  as  the  Lord  appears  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earths 
in  an  angelic  form,  which  is  the  human  form,  therefore 
when  spirits  and  angels  from  those  earths  hear  from  the 
spirits  and  angels  of  our  earth  that  God  is  actually  man,  j 
they  receive  the  Word,  acknowledge  it,  and  rejoice  that  it  i 
is  so.  To  the  reasons  which  have  been  already  adduced  it  | 
may  be  added,  that  the  inhabitants,  the  spirits,  and  the 
angels  of  our  earth  relate  to  the  external  and  corporeal 
sense  in  the  Greatest  Man ;  and  the  external  and  corporeal 


THE   INCARNATION.  137 

sense  is  the  ultimate,  in  which  the  interiors  of  life  end, 
and  in  which  they  rest  as  in  their  (receptacle).  So  is  truth 
Divine  (in  its  ultimates)  in  the  letter  which  is  called  the 
Word ;  and  on  this  account  too  it  was  given  on  this  earth 
and  not  on  another.  And  because  the  Lord  is  the  Word, 
and  its  first  and  last,  that  all  things  might  exist  according 
to  order  He  was  willing  to  be  born  on  this  earth,  and  to 
become  the  Word — according  to  these  words  in  John:  'In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  God  was  the  Word.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God:  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made.  .  .  .  And  the 
W^ord  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld 
His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father. 
.  . .  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only  begotten 
Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  brought 
Him  forth  to  view/  The  Word  here  is  Divine  truth." — 
(A.  C.  9250-9360.) 

It  was,  then,  not  because  the  inhabitants  of  our  earth 
were  better  than  those  of  other  earths,  or  more  spiritual, 
but  because  they  had  descended  lower  into  naturalism  and 
sensualism ;  and  by  the  Lord's  coming  to  this  earth,  the 
First  became  Last,  and  He  ^could  thus  redeem  the  in- 
habitants, and  benefit  the  spirits  and  angels  of  all  earths, 
by  bringing  or  accommodating  the  Divine  truth  to  their 
wants,  and  presenting  Himself  as  a  Divine  Man  for  them 
to  reverence,  love  and  worship.  We  think  the  reader  will 
join  with  us  in  hoping  that  the  inhabitants  of  no  other 
earth  have  sunken  lower  than  those  of  our  earth  have, 
spiritually;  or  into  selfishness,  love  of  rule,  and  perverted 
sensualism.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  they  could  sink 
much  lower  without  being  annihilated  by  their  evils. 

The  third  objection  which  is  often  made  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Incarnation,  and  one  which  is  quite  apt  to  trouble 
the  novitiate  student,  is:  "What  became  of  the  universe 
when  the  Lord  was  dwelling  on  earth — who  took  care  of 
that?"  - 


138  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

If  we  bear  in  mind  that  man  is  but  a  recipient  of  life, 
that  he  has  no  life  of  himself,  but  constantly  receives  it 
from  the  Lord,  and  that  the  beginning  of  man's  life  is  but 
the  beginning  of  a  receptacle  for  life  to  flow  into,  and 
that  even  the  physical  body  can  only  exist  by  constantly 
receiving  physical  substances  into  it,  it  will  help  us  the 
better  to  understand  this  subject.  The  conception  with- 
out a  natural  father  in  the  case  of  the  virgin,  was  simply 
the  formation  of  a  receptacle  for  receiving  the  Divine  life, 
as  well  as  human  life ;  whereas,  in  the  case  of  ordinary 
men,  they  having  a  natural  father  as  well  as  mother, 
receive  only  created  life.  While  evil  is  not  transmitted, 
and  no  child  is  to  blame  or  responsible  for  the  deeds  of 
his  parents,  still  an  inclination  to  the  evils  which  not  only 
his  parents  but  also  his  ancestors  have  voluntarily  made 
their  own,  by  indulging  in  them,  is  transmitted  from  both 
father  and  mother.  The  child  born,  then,  in  the  manger, 
inherited  from  the  mother  the  inclinations  to  evil  of  the 
Jewish  race,  one  of  the  most  selfish  and  sensual  of  the 
races  of  men  on  earth,  and  also  the  frailties  and  peculiari- 
ties of  the  race  of  men  before  them,  or  their  ancestors. 
It  wus,  then,  by  assuming  these  inclinations,  that  the 
Lord  came  down  to  the  level  of  fallen  humanity,  and  be- 
came subject  to  temptations,  like  other  men.  The  Divine 
could  never  be  tempted,  but  the  human  could  be ;  and  it 
was  from  the  maternal  side  that  He  was  subject  to  temp- 
tations, but  from  the  Divine  within,  that  He  was  able  to 
overcome  in  temptations,  and  therefore  was  without  sin. 
Of  course,  the  whole  of  the  Divine  love  and  wisdom  were 
not  manifested  in  the  child,  nor  was  it  possible  for  it  to 
be,  until  the  inclinations  inherited  from  the  mother  were 
overcome ;  and  while  this  manifestation  of  the  Lord  on 
earth  was  taking  place,  he  was  none  the  less  present  in 
heaven,  arid  controlling  the  universe  than  previously;  in 
fact,  we  should  remember  that  heaven  is  not  far  distant, 
only  from  the  evil.  The  Lord  says  it  is  actually  within 
the  good  man;  and  of  little  children  He  says,  "their 


THE   INCARNATION.  139 

angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  our  Father  in  heaven." 

O  if 

Little  children  are  innocent,  and  are  consequently  near  to, 
and  under  the  protection  of  the  Lord  and  His  angels;  and 
the  Divine  Father  manifesting  Himself  in  the  Son  born  of 
Mary,  was  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  the  very  life  thereof. 
The  child  born,  possessed  a  dual  nature,  inheriting  in- 
clinations and  capacities  from  both  father  and  mother  like 
all  other  children,  and  it  was  only  after  many  years  of 
conflict  with  the  inherited  tendencies,  which  were  derived, 
from  the  mother,  and  victories  achieved,  that  the  Father 
was  so  far  manifested  in  the  Son,  that  our  Saviour  was 
able  to  say:  "I  and  my  Father  are  one;  whoso  hath  seen 
me,  hath  seen  the  Father; "  and  it  was  only  after  the  last 
temptation  of  the  cross  that  he  was  able  to  exclaim,  "  It  is 
finished/'  and  that  He  ascended  to  His  Father  and  our 
Father,  His  God  and  our  God,  having  made  God  manifest 
to  man. 

The  idea  that  our  heavenly  Father,  who  has  created  the 
world  and  the  boundless  universe  for  the  sake  of  creating 
man,  and  all  for  his  use,  should  so  love  us  as  to  bow  the 
heavens  and  come  down  to  us  in  our  low  estate,  for  the 
sake  of  redeeming  and  saving  mankind  from  falsehood  and 
evil,  is  one  of  the  most  sublime,  beautiful,  and  reasonable 
ideas  of  all  the  ages;  and  it  is  beautiful  because  it  is  true: 
and  this  glorious  truth,  so  human,  so  like  what  God  has 
implanted  in  the  heart  of  His  earthly  children  to  strive  to 
do  for  their  children,  has  made  the  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  our  Saviour  a  season  of  joy  and  gladness,  and  it 
will  remain  so  forever. 

The  first  prophetical  intimation  or  announcement  of 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  wTas  made  in  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
when  it  was  declared  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should 
-bruise  the  serpent's  head.  The  woman  signified  man's 
proprium  or  selfhood ;  the  serpent,  man's  sensual  nature ; 
the  seed  of  the  serpent,  infidelity  which  has  resulted 
from  evil  of  every  kind.  "The  serpent's  head,"  says 
Swedenborg,  "is  self-love;  the  seed  of  the  woman  is  the 


liO 


SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   HEVELATION. 


Lord ;  the  enmity  which  is  put,  is  between  the  love  of 
man's  proprium  and  the  Lord,  thus  between  man's  own 
prudence  and  the  Divine  Providence  of  the  Lord."  This 
Divine  allegory  was  understood  by  the  descendants  of  the 
Most  Ancient  or  Adamic  Church,  and  also  of  the  Noachian 
or  Ancient  Church,  from  which  have  sprung  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world.  For  in  those  early  days,  as  we 
have  already  shown,  they  understood  the  science  of  corres- 
pondences. It  will  be  readily  seen  that  such  an  important 
idea  as  the  Incarnation  of  the  Lord,  existing  among  all 
men  at  anyone  period,  could  hardly  be  lost;  but  would 
be  transmitted  either  by  tradition,  or  by  writing,  among 
all  nations  ;  or/to  say  the  least,  low  and  degraded  must 
be  that  nation  or  race  where  some  traces  of  this  cheerful 
and  hopeful  belief  is  not  to  be  found. 

"And  such  revelations,"  says  Eev.  G.  Field  in  his 
work  entitled  'The  Two  Great  Books  of  Nature  and 
Kevelation,'  "have  never  been  wanting,  and  have  always 
been  adapted  to  the  state  of  human  reception.  Thus  we 
find  that  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  world,  in  the  time  of 
the  gold  and  silver  ages  (when  natural  images  were  used 
to  represent  spiritual  ideas),  the  coming  of  the  Lord  had 
been  variously  foretold  and  symbolized,  and  was  by  tra- 
dition preserved  among  all  nations,  and  couched  under 
various  personifications,  on  the  earth,  and  in  the  heavens; 
thus  we  find  the  same  or  similar  predictions  among  the 
heathen,  as  are  in  the  Sacred  Books,  and  these  originally 
obtained  from  earlier  Divine  revelations,  all  relating  to 
the  coming  of  Jehovah. 


HERCULES, 

4  The  lay  records  the  la- 
bors and  the  praise, 

And  all  the  immortal  acts 
of  Hercules. 

First,  how  the  mighty 
babe  when  swathed  in 
bands, 

The  serpents  strangled 
with  his  infant  hands; 


ESCULAPIDS, 

'Once  as  the  sacred  in- 
fant she  surveyed, 

The  God  was  kindled  in 
the  raving  maid; 

And  thus  she  uttered  her 
prophetic  tale : 


1ESUS  CHRIST, 

'Ye  nymphs  of  Solyma 
begin  the  song ! 

O  thou,  my  voice  in- 
spire, 

That  touched  Isaiah's 
hallowed  lips  with  fire  ; 

Rapt  into  future  times, 
the  bard  began; 


THE 


141 


Then  as  in  years  and 
matchless  force  he 
grew, 

The  (Echalian  walls,  and 
Trojan,  overthrew. 

Besides  a  thousand  haz- 
ards they  relate, 

Procured  by  Juno1s  and 
Euristheus'  hate. 

Thy  hands,  unconquer'd 
hero,  could  subdue  . 

The  cloud-born  Centaurs 
and  the  monster  crew ; 

Nor  thy  resistless  arm 
the  Bull  withstood ; 

Nor  he,  the  roaring  ter- 
ror of  the  wood. 

Ths  triple  porter  of  the 
Stygian  seat, 

With  lolling  tongue  lay 
fawning  at  thy  feett 

And,  seized  with  fear, 
forgot  the  mangled 
meat. 

The  infernal  waters  trem- 
bled at  thy  sight ; 

Thee,  God,  no  face  of 
danger  could  affright,, 

Nor  "huge  Typhous,  nor 
the  unnumbered  snake, 

Increased  with  hissing 
heads  in  Lerna's  lake.' 

Virgins  JSneid,  Bk.  8. 


Hail,  great  physician*  of 
the  world,  all  hail! 

Hail,  mighty  infant,  who 
in  years  to  come 

Shall  heal  the  nations, 
and  defraud  the  tomb! 

Swift  be  thy  growth,  thy 
triumphs  unconfined  ; 

Make  kingdoms  thicker, 
and  increase  mankind. 

Thy  daring  art  shall  an- 
imate the  dead, 

And  draw  the  thunder  on 
thy  guilty  head ; 

Then  shalt  thou  die,  but 
from  thy  dark  abode 

Shalt  rise  victorious,  and 
be  twice  a  God.' 

Ovid's  Meta-morp.  BTc.  2. 


*  Esculapius,  as  well 
as  Hercules,  was  but  a 
personification,  prefigur- 
ing the  advent  of  Jeho- 
vah (when  the  full  time 
should  be  come),  either 
as  the  'mighty  Hero,' 
or  the  great  Therapeuta, 
or  the  healer  of  the  soul, 
and  thus  as  the  '  great 
physician  of  the  world,' 
or  God  incarnate. 


A  virgin  shall  conceive, 

a  virgin  bear  a  son. 
Swift  fly  the  years,  and 

rise  the  expected  morn, 
O  spring  to   light!  aus- 
picious babe,  be  born. 
He  from  thick  films  shall 

purge  the  visual  ray, 
And     on    the     sightless 

eyeball  pour  the  day ; 
'Tis   he    the    obstructed 

paths   of    sound    shall 

clear, 
And     bid     new     music 

charm    the     unfolding 

ear. 
The    dumb    shall     sing, 

the    lame    his    crutch 

forego, 
And    leap   exulting    like 

the  bounding  roe.' 
Pope. 


"The  avatars,  incarnations,  and  transmigrations  of  the 
ancients,  do  not  mean,  as  now  generally  understood, 
actual  physical  descents,  or  embodiments,  but  typical 
ones,  having  reference  to  this  great  final  act,  in  the  com- 
ing of  the  Great  Redeemer  into  the  world,  when  the  state 
of  humanity  should  call  for  its  accomplishment.  Long 
before  that  grand  prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  outward  na- 
ture, festivals  were  held  throughout  the  eastern  world,  by 
the  Pagans,  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Paritura.  And  the 
Apocalyptic  Divine,  even  after  this  event  had  been  literally 
fulfilled,  speaks  of  it  as  future,  or  rather  as  independent 
of  all  time  ;  because  it  is  a  principle  which  always  spirit- 
ually takes  place,  w"hen  the  mind  of  man  is  in  a  proper, 
receptive  state.  Thus  on  the  theatre  of  the  spiritual 


SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

world,  a  woman  representatively  brings  forth  a  man  child, 
and  they  are  pursued  by  the  Dragon,  etc.  The  Kevelator 
describes  the  same  mental  phenomena  in  allegorical  or 
symbolical  language,  as  is  described  in  the  Gospels,  in  the 
sense  of  the  letter,  by  the  Virgin  bringing  forth  a  Son, 
and  being  pursued  by  Herod,  fleeing  into  Egypt,  etc.,  only 
that  in  the  Gospel  this  state  was  actually  ultimated  in  the 
plane  of  the  natural  world,  that  thus  there  might  also  be 
a  base  upon  which  all  things  above  might  repose  or  rest." 

"  Brahma  is  prophetically  described,  in  a  period  of  remote 
antiquity,  long  before  the  days  of  Abraham,  as  becoming 
incarnate,  and  bringing  down  the  Divine  Law  to  man,  for 
his  restoration  and  salvation.  Prometheus  in  like  manner 
is  a  personification  of  a  similar  Theophany,  or  a  revelation 
of  the  love  of  God  through  the  spiritual  perceptions  of  a 
chosen  instrument  It  was  thus  also,  says  Milman,  that 
the'  Divine  Truth  was  successively  brought  down  to  the 
apprehensions  of  man,  as  the  Memra,  or  Divine  Word; 
and  the  ( appellation  is  found  in  the  Indian,  the  Persian, 
the  Platonic,  and  the  Alexandrian  systems.'  Which  term 
is  also  applied  to  the  Messiah  by  the  Targumists,  or  ear- 
liest Jewish  commentators  on  the  Scriptures.  —  History 
of  Christianity. 

"And  not  only  is  that  prophetic  descent  of  the  great 
Deliverer,  and  Saviour,  thus  written  upon  the  tablets  of  all 
nations,  in  His  passage  through  the  spiritual  heavens,  by 
the  assumption  of  an  angel's  body,  by  Shekinahs,  The- 
ophanies,  and  Avatars,  but  even  the  then  far-off  event  of 
His  own  actual  advent — down  to  the  earthly  senses,  and 
tabernacling  in  the  flesh — was  also  predicted  and  typified 
in  the  most  definite  manner.  In  some  of  the  ancient 
Chinese  books  which  have  been  brought  into  Europe, 
(The  Books  Yking,  Lileiylci,  etc.)  it  is  foretold  that  a  time 
would  come  'when  everything  is  to  be  restored  to  its  first 
splendor,  by  the  coming  of  a  Hero  called  Eiunts*,  which 
signifies  Shepherd  and  Prince,  to  whom  they  give  likewise 
the  names  of  The  Most  Hoty,  the  Universal  Teacher,  and 


THE   IKCABNAT1OK.  143 

the  Supreme  Truth.  He  answers  exactly  to  the  Mythras 
of  the  Persians,  the  Orus  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Mercury 
of  the  Greeks,  and  the  Brahma  of  the  Indians.  The  Chi- 
nese Books  speak  likewise  of  the  sufferings  and  conflicts 
of  Kiuntse  just  as  the  Syrians  do  of  the  death  of  Adonis, 
who  was  to  rise  again  to  make  men  happy;  and  as  the 
Greeks  do  of  the  labors  and  painful  exploits  of  the  son  of 
Jupiter  who  was  to  come  down  upon  earth.  It  looks  as  if 
the  source  of  all  these  allegories  was  only  an  ancient  tra- 
dition common  to  all  nations." — Theology  and  Mythology 
of  the  Ancients. 

"  The  Persian  sphere,  cited  by  Abeii  Ezra,  ( represents  a 
beautiful  Virgin,  with  flowing  hair,  sitting  in  a  chair,  with 
two  ears  of  corn  in  her  hand,  and  suckling  an  infant, 
called  Jesus  by  some  nations,  and  Christ  in  Greek/  The 
Arabian  astronomer,  Alboazar  (or  Abulmazar),  has  this 
passage  quoted  by  Kirker  Selden,  and  E.  Bacon,  and 
Dupuis:  'In  the  first  decan  of  the  sign  of  the  Virgin, 
Allowing  the  most  ancient  tradition  of  the  Persians,  the 
Chaldeans,  the  Egyptians,  Hermes,  and  Esculapius,  a 
young  woman,  called  in  the  Persic  language  Seclenidos  de 
Darzama;  in  the  Arabic,  Adrenedefa,  that  is  to  say,  a 
chaste,  pure  and  immaculate  Virgin,  suckling  an  infant, 
which  some  nations  call  Jesus,  but  which  we  in  Greek 
;all  Christ: 

"And  'To  this  day  Egypt  has  consecrated  the  preg- 
nancy of  a  Virgin,  and  the  nativity  of  her  son,  whom  they 
annually  present  in  a  cradle  to  the  adoration  of  the  people, 
and  when  King  Ptolemy,  350  years  before  the  Christian 
era,  demanded  of  the  priests  the  signification  of  this  re- 
igious  ceremony,  they  told  him  that  it  was  a  mystery 
that  had  been  taught  to  their  forefathers  by  a  respectable 
prophet.' 

"Thus  in  the  ancient  Books  of  China  they  have  a 
record  of  the  coming  or  '  incarnation  of  the.  great  Hero, 
lis  birth  by  a  Virgin,  his  low  estate,  his  teaching  for  three 
fears,  his  suffering  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  resur- 


144  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

rection,  ascent  into  heaven,  and  coming  to  judgment,  the 
eternal  happiness  of  the  good,  and  the  eternal  misery  of 
the  wicked." — N.  J.  Magazine,,  1848. 

"  The  Jesuits  in  China  were  appalled  at  finding  in  the 
Mythology  of  that  country,  the  counterpart  of  the  f  Virgo 
Deipara.'"  For  further  information  on  this  subject,  see 
Milmau's  "History  of  Christianity,"  also  Yolney,  Taylor, 
Field,  and  others. 

We  turn  now  to  the  predictions  of  the  Incarnation  of 
the  Lord  contained  in  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

In  the  seventh  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  read :  "  Therefore 
the  Lord  Himself  shall  give  you  a  sign :  Behold,  a  virgin 
shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Emmanuel,  or  God  with  us;"  and  in  the  ninth  chapter  we 
read:  "Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given; 
and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulders;  and  his 
name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty 
God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace. "  And 
in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter:  "It  shall  be  said  in  that  day, 
Lo,.this  is  our  God,  we  have  waited  for  Him,  and  He  will 
save  us*;  this  is  the  Lord,  we  have  waited  for  him,  we  will 
be  glad  and  rejoice  in  his  salvation."  In  the  fortieth  chap- 
ter  of  Isaiah  we  read :  "  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in 
the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God."  "And  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see 
it  together,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 
"  Behold,  the  Lord  God  will  come  with  a  strong  hand,  and 
his  arm  shall  rule  for  him  :  behold,  his  reward  is  with 
him,  and  his  work  before  him."  "He  shall  feed  his  flock 
like  a  shepherd." 

In  the  twenty- third  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  is  the  follow- 
ing:  "Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  willj 
raise  unto  David  a  righteous  branch,  and  a  king  shall 
reign  and  prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgment  and  justice 
in  the  earth.  *  *  *  And  this  is  the  name  whereby  he 
shall  be  called,  the  Lord  our  Kighteousness."  In  Zecha- 


THE  INCAK^ATIOtf.  145 


riah,  second  chapter,  we  read:  "Sing  and  rejoice,  0 
daughter  of  Zion  :  for,  lo,  I  come,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  thee,  saith  the  Lord.  And  many  nations  shall  be 
joined  to  the  Lord  in  that  day,  and  shall  be  my  people: 
and  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  thee,  and  thou  shalt  know 
that  the  Lord  of  hosts  hath  sent  me  unto  thee."  In  the 
fifth  chapter  of  Micah,  we  read,  "But  thou,  Bethlehem 
Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of 
Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to 
be  Euler  of  Israel  ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  of 
old,  from  everlasting,  He  shall  stand  and  feed  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord,  in  the  majesty  of  the  name  of  the 
Lord  his  God."  And  in  the  third  and  fourth  chapters  of 
Malachi,  we  read  :  "  Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and 
he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me  ;  and  the  Lord  whom 
ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  into  his  temple,  even  the 
messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in  ;  behold, 
he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  who  may 
abide  the  day  of  his  coming?  or  who  shall  stand  when  he 
appeareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire."  "  Behold,  I  will 
send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the 
great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord." 

The  Prophet  Daniel  declares  that  he  "  Saw  in  the  night 
visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  man  came  with 
the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  ancient  of  days, 
and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.  And  there  was 
given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all 
people,  nations,  and  languages,  should  serve  him  ;  his 
dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  shall  not  pass 
away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed. 
*  *  *  And  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him/' 
Seventh  chapter. 

We  have  cited  but  a  few  of  the  passages  to  be  found  in 
the  Prophets  which  teach  more  or  less  clearly  that  the 
Lord,  or  Jehovah  Himself,  was  to  assume  humanity,  or 
manifest  Himself  in  the  flesh  for  the  salvation  of  our  race. 
Let  every  one  who  reverences  the  sacred  Scriptures,  as  the 
7 


146  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   EEVELATION. 

Word  of  God,  search  the  Old  Testament  from  beginning 
to  end,  and  see  if  they  do  not  testify  to  this  great  truth — 
that  the  Jehovah  and  Saviour  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  God  manifest  and  Saviour  of  the  New  Testament  are 
the  same.  We  have  shown  how  wonderfully  the  predic- 
tions of  the  Prophets  in  the  Holy  Word,  are  sustained  by 
the  traditions  and  "sacred  writings"  which  are  to  be 
found  among  Gentile  nations,  and  which  have  come  down 
from  the  earliest  churches  established  by  the  Lord  on 
earth — even  from  the  Adamic  and  Noachian  churches. 

We  know  full  well  that  many  sincere  Christians  in 
every  church,  in  whom  the  Word  of  the  Lord  has  not 
been  made  of  none  effect  by  the  traditions  and  doctrines 
of  men,  and  who  have  not  confirmed  themselves  in  false 
doctrines,  know  of  the  Lord  because  they  strive  to  keep 
His  commandments  and  eayings,  and  think  of  and  worship 
no  other  God  than  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  to  those 
who  have  either  framed  for  themselves,  or  embraced  false 
doctrines,  which  permit  them  to  hope  for  heaven,  short  of 
a  constant  living  effort  to  keep  the  Divine  commandments,, 
or  those  who  have  pinned  their  faith  upon  the  sleeves  of 
blind  leaders,  instead  of  searching  the  Scriptures  for  the 
truth,  and  have  confirmed  themselves  in  errors,  the  First 
or  Second  coming  of  the  Lord  is  a  day  of  darkness  and  not 
of  light.  Truly  to  such  does  the  Prophet  Amos  predict 
by  inquiring:  "Shall  not  the  day  of  the  Lord  be  darknass 
and  not  light  ?  even  thick  darkness  and  no  brightness." 
Fifth  chapter.  "Wo  unto  you  that  desire  the  day  of  the 
Lord !  to  what  end  is  it  for  you  ?  The  day  of  the  Lord 
is  darkness  and  not  light,"  is  the  prophetical  language 
addressed  by  the  Lord  through  the  prophet  Amos  to  the 
makers  of  false  doctrines,  and  worshippers  of  false  gods  of 
all  ages ;  to  the  man  who  is  in  the  pride  of  his  own  intel- 
ligence, bigoted,  intolerant,  lover  of  ruling  in  spiritual 
things — the  blind  leader.  It  is  addressed  to  the  worship- 
pers of  mammon  and  of  self  in  every  form  ;  to  the  lovers  of 
rule,  or  of  approbation,  for  the  sake  of  self;  the  worship- 


THE  IKCAE^TATIO]^.  147 

pers  of  nature,  and  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  For  all  such 
in  this  world  there  is  little  hope  of  their  seeing  the  dawn- 
ing light  of  this  new  day,  unless  in  the  kind  providence 
of  the  Lord,  their  selfish  and  worldly  expectations  and 
hopes  are  restrained  by  afflictions,  losses,  or  disappoint- 
ments, which  shall  lead  them  from  their  selfish  schemes, 
to  seek  the  only  true  and  living  God  as  He  is  revealed  in 
His  Divine  Word. 

But  sincere  seekers  after  truth,  who  reverence  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,  and  are  striving  to  lead  a  good  life 
according  to  its  precepts,  of  all  religious  denominations,  and 
those  of  no  sect,  who  are  without  prejudice,  will  be  able  to 
see  this  grand  central  doctrine,  in  the  light  of  the  descend- 
ing New  Jerusalem,  in  all  its  beauty  and  splendor.  That 
God  is  one,  and  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  that  one 
God,  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  upon 
this  rock  the  church  of  the  future  is  being  founded  and  is 
to  be  built.  This  doctrine,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  come 
to  examine  the  New  Testament,  is  clearly  taught  in  the 
letter  of  the  Scriptures,  but  it  is  most  beautifully  illumi- 
nated and  illustrated  by  the  science  of  correspondences, 
revealed  by  the  Lord  through  Emanuel  Swedenborg  for 
the  benefit  of  the  men  of  this  new  age.  In  the  spiritual 
sense  all  the  sacred  Scriptures  treat  of  the  Lord,  the 
assumption  of  the  humanity  on  earth,  the  glorification  of 
that  humanity,  and  of  the  regeneration  of  man.  The 
long-predicted  day  when  there  shall  be  but  one  God  and 
His  name  one  in  all  the  earth,  is  at  hand.  The  Christian 
church  is  yet  to  be  reunited  and  built  up  in  the  bonds  of 
charity  on  this  rock  ;  and  with  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
Lord,  a  host  of  conflicting  and  false  doctrines  will  dis- 
appear from  view,  as  do  the  birds  of  night  at  the  rising 
of  the  natural  sun. 

Rev.  Abiel  Silver,  in  his  excellent  work  on  the  "  Sym- 
bolic Character  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,"  says  truly :  "  It 
is  therefore  from  false,  and  not  from  true  views  of  the 
Word,  that  men  are  divided.  Truths  are  eternal  verities. 


148  SKEPTICISM  AND  DIY1NE   REVELATION. 

They  are  ever  and  unchangeably  the  same;  and  all  truths 
are  in  harmony,  and  sustain  each  other.  About  them, 
when  seen,  men  cannot  differ  It  is  about  falsities,  alto- 
gether?  that  the  Christian  world  is  contending.  Falsities 
are  all  dark,  unstable,  deceptive,  and  mysterious;  fit 
grounds  for  contention  and  strife,  and  for  the  proud  dis- 
play of  self- wisdom;  and  constant  changes  of  opinion  are 
and  must  be  taking  place  among  those  who  build  upon 
such  grounds;  while  those  who  build  on  the  'Bock  of 
ages/  the  spiritual  truth  of  the  Word,  rationally  seen  in 
the  light  of  analogy?  never  can  change  their  views,  nor 
disagree  in  their  doctrines,  unless  by  sin  they  lose  their 
language.  When  this  light  is  seen  in  the  study  of  the 
Holy  Word,  it  will  as  inevitably  lead  all  sincere  students 
of  divinity  to  the  same  conclusions  in  every  jot  and  tittle 
of  the  Word,  so  far  as  it  is  seen,  as  the  light  leads  to  the 
sun  from  which  it  flows.  The  reason  is,  the  investigation 
is  carried  on  by  a  scientific  law,  and  that  law  is  divine. 
The  reason,  therefore,  why  men  who  read  the  Word  in  the 
science  of  correspondences,  differ  not  in  its  doctrines,  is 
the  very  reason  why  men  differ  not  in  mathematics;  it  is 
because,  in  both  instances,  the  truths  are  indisputable. 
If,  as  we  believe,  there  are  no  two  persons  who,  without 
the  light  of  this  science,  agree  as  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Word,  and  no  two,  who  have  it,  that  disagree,  the  ques- 
tion, as  to  its  truth,  becomes  a  startling  one. 

"Now  we  wish  it  distinctly  understood,  that  this  lan- 
guage or  science  was  once  universal ;  that  it  has  been  lost, 
and  is  now  revealed;  that  the  revelation  has  been  made  by 
the  Lord  himself  in  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  and  not  by 
any  man;  that  'The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  0 .  .  hath 
prevailed  to  open  the  book,  and  to  loose  the  seven  seals 
thereof/  and  has  evolved  this  science  from  nature  and  the 
Holy  Word,  and  not  from  the  mind  of  any  man ;  and  has 
caused  its  general  elements  and  rules  to  be  recorded  in  the 
works  entitled  the  'Arcana  Coelestia/  the  'Apocalypse 
Revealed/  and  the  'Apocalypse  Explained/  written  by 


THE    INCARNATION.  149 

Emanuel  Swedenborg ;  and  that  when  we  read  these 
works,  and  learn  this  science,  and  behold  its  light,  we  ob- 
tain both  the  science  and  the  light  from  the  Holy  Word 
and  from  nature,  and  not  from  those  works  except  as  the 
light  shines  in  them  from  the  Word. 

"As  we  read  .those  wonderful  books  with  an  humble  and 
teachable  disposition  the  Holy  Word  comes  up  constantly 
before  us  with  newly  shining  pages,  which  grow  brighter 
and  brighter  as  we  progress,  until  the  heavenly  harmony 
and  beauty  of  the  Word  become  so  absorbing  to  the  mind 
that  we  lose  all  sight  of  the  writings  we  are  reading,  and 
the  Word  itself  becomes  its  own  interpreter— its  own 
revealer  of  the  divine  law  in  which  it  is  written.  One 
passage  throws  its  light  upon  another,  and  receives  back 
the  other's  lustre  in  blending  beauty,  and  their  united 
blaze  is  responded  to  by  a  third,  and  all  these  are  embraced 
by  a  fourth,  and  so  on,  till  every  sacred  text  we  see  be- 
comes an  evidence  of  the  truth  of  all  the  rest,  and  the 
whole  blessed  Word,  BO  far  as  we  behold  it,  stands  before 
us.in  symmetrical  glory  and  beauty,  a  perfect  whole,  in  an 
infinitude  of  parts,  all  in  harmony.  And  though  we  are 
lost  in  the  depth  and  immensity  of  its  wisdom,  yet,  we 
are  lost  in  light  and  not  in  darkness.  And  every  advance 
we  make  in  the  regenerate  life  enables  us  to  drink  still 
deeper  at  this  inexhaustible  fountain  of  the  water  of 
life," 

We  will  turn  now  to  the  testimony  concerning  the  Lord 
to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew  we  are  told  that  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  the  husband  of  Mary  in 
a  dream,  saying,  "Joseph,  thou  gon  of  David,  fear  not  to 
take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife :  for  that  which  is  conceived 
in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  And  she  shall  bring  forth  a 
son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus ;  for  he  shall  save 
his  people  from  their  sins,  Now  all  this  was  done  that  it 
might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the 
prophet,  saying,  Behold  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and 


150  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Im- 
manuel;  which  being  interpreted  is,  God  with  us." 

In  the  first  chapter  of  John  we  read,  "  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All 
tilings  were  made  by  Him;  and  without  Him  was  not 
anything  made  that  was  made.  In  Him  was  life ;  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  light  shineth  in  dark- 
ness, and  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not." 

In  the  second  chapter  of  Luke  we  read  that  "  there  were 
in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding  in  the  field,  keep- 
ing watch  over  their  flocks  by  night.  And  lo,  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
Bhone  round  about  them;  and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And 
the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not:  for  behold,  I  bring 
you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  for  all  people. 
For  unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a 
Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord." 

The  first  chapter  of  Mark  commences  thus:  "The  be- 
ginning of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God ;  as 
it  is  written  in  the  prophets,  behold  I  send  my  messenger 
before  thy  face,  which  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee, 
The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight," 

Thus  we  see  that  both  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  and  the 
Evangelists  declare,  that  in  the  person  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  fulfilled  the  prophetical  annunciation  of  the 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  in  regard  to  the  Messiah, 
and  that  they  all  declare  that  He  was  God  with  us, 

Let  us  turn  now  to  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  Himself, 
as  recorded  in  the  gospels,  as  to  His  true  character, 

In  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John  he  gays,  "Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled;  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
me,  *  *  *  Thomas  said  unto  him,  Lord,  we  know  not 
whither  thou  goest;  and  how  can  we  know  the  way? 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life : 
no  man  cometh  unto  the  rather,  but  by  me.  II  ye  had 


THE   IKCARNATIOH.  151 

known  me,  ye  should  have  known  my  Father  -also :  and 
from  henceforth  ye  know  Him  and  have  seen  Him.  Philip 
said  unto  him.  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth 
us.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with 
you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip?  He  that 
hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father,  and  how  sayest  thou 
then,  show  us  the  Father?  Belfevest  thou  not  that  1  am 
in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  me?  The  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  myself;  but  the  Father  that 
dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth  the  works.  Believe  me,  that  I 
am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me." 

In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  John  we  read,  "  Jesus  cried 
and  said,  He  that  believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on  me, 
but  on  him  that  sent  me.  And  he  that  seeth  me,  seeth 
him  that  sent- me."  In  the  first  chapter  we  are  told,  "No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only  begotten  son, 
which  is  in  the  bosom  qf  the  Father,  he  hath  declared 
him."  And  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  John  we  read,  "  My 
Father,  which  gave  them  me,  is  greater  than  all;  and  no 
man  is  able  to  j>luck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand.  I 
and  my  Father  are  one.1' 

Such  then  is  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself.  Could  language  be  plainer?  Is  it  possible  that 
any  being  should  proclaim  such  -beautiful,  useful,  and 
heavenly  doctrines— the  very  doctrines  of  spiritual  life-— 
and  set  such  an  example  to  men  as  did  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  yet  represent  Himself  as  being  one  with  the 
Father,  and  that  he  that  had  seen  Him  had  seen  the 
Father,  when  it  was  not  true  ? 

We  will  now  glance  at  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  in 
the  Epistles. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  Colossians,  St.  Paul  declares 
that  in  Christ  "dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily."  In  the  first  chapter  we  are  told  that  Jesus  Christ 
"is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of  every 
creature ;  for  by  Him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in 
heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible, 


152  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities, 
or  powers.  All  things  were  created  by  Him  and  for  Him ; 
and  He  is  before  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things  con- 
sist." 

James  calls  him  the  Lord  of  Glory  ;  and  Jude  closes  his 
Epistle  with  these  words:  "To  the  only  wise  God  our 
Saviour  be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power,  both 
now  and  fcrever.  Amen." 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  book  of  Revelation,  the  last 
book  of  the  Divine  Word,  and  see  if  the  testimony  therein 
contained  is  in  harmony  with  the  Old  Testament,  the 
Gospels,  and  the  Epistles,  in  regard  to  the  Lord. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Revelation,  John  the  revelator 
declares  that  he  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
heard  behind  him  a  great  voice  as  of  a  trumpet  saying,  I 
am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last.  And,  turn- 
ing to  see  from  whom  the  voice  came,  he  "  saw  one  like 
unto  the  Son  of  Man,"  and  when  John  had  fallen  at  his 
feet  as  dead,  this  same  person  lays  his  right  hand  upon 
him,  and  says:  "Fear  not,  I  am  the  first  and  the  last.  I 
am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive 
for  evermore."  Thus  leaving  no  doubt  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  or  the  Son  of  Man,  was  the  being  whose 
voice  the  revelator  heard  behind  him.  Again,  in  the  last 
chapter  of  Revelation,  where  the  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  spoken  of,  He  says;  "And  behold,  I  come 
quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with  me  to  give  every  man 
according  as  his  work  shall  be  5  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last." 

"  In  the  Old  Testament,  Jehovah,"  says  Rev.  B.  F.Barrett, 
(from  whose  excellent  work  on  "  The  New  Dispensation," 
and  other  works,  we  intend  taking  several  extracts  for  this 
section  and  the  one  on  the  Trinity,)  "repeatedly  declares 
Himself  to  be  the  First  and  the  Last;  and  since  there 
evidently  cannot  be  two  firsts  and  lasts,  in  the  sense  in 
which  these  words  are  here  used,  therefore  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  must  be  tho  same,  as  to  person,  as  Jehovah,  But 


THE   INCARNATJOX.  153 

there  are  other  passages  in  the  book  of  Kevelatiou,  which 
render  the  identity  of  Jesus  and  Jehovah,  as  to  person, 
evident  beyond  doubt ; "  for  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  we 
read:  "These  shall  make  war  with  the  Lamb,  and  the 
Lamb  shall  overcome  them;  for  he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and 
King  of  kings."  That  the  Lamb  denotes  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  manifest  from  many  passages ;  as  in  the  follow- 
ing in  the  fifth  chapter,  where  we  are  told  that  John 
heard  the  voice  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands  of  angels  round  about  tho 
throne :  "  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing."  In  the  same  chapter  we  are  told  that  "  the  four 
and  twenty  elders  fell  down  before  the  Lamb,"  and  they 
sung  a  new  song,  saying,  "Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast  slain 
and  hast  redeemed  us,  etc." 

We  have  now  taken  a  hasty  glance  at  the  abundant 
testimony  which  the  Divine  Word  from  beginning  to  end 
bears  to  the  truth  of  this  doctrine— that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Supreme  and  only  God  of  heaven  and  earth. 
We  find  that  the  same  titles  are  applied  to  Him  as  to 
Jehovah  God,  the  same  attributes  of  eternity  and  self- 
existence  predicated  of  Him  by  myriads  of  angels,  that  is 
proper  to  be  given  to  the  Lord  alone. 


XXIV, 

I 

The  Divine  Trinity, 

rriHAT  the  Lord  is  a  Triune  being  is  not  a  new  doc- 
JL  trine,  nor  is  a  knowledge  of  the  Trinity  which  existed 
previous  to  the  Incarnation,  confined  to  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, but  it  is  also  to  be  found  among  the  traditions  and 
"  sacred  writings "  of  many  Gentile  nations,  having  been 
transmitted  to  them  from  the  Noachian  or  Ancient 
Church, 


154  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

Says  the  Rev.  G.  Field,  in  his  work  on  "The  Two  Great 
Books ":  "Not  only  was  there  given  to  man  from  the 
most  ancient  time  the  truths  of  this  universal  religion,  in 
relation  to  One  God,  One  Glorious  and  Infinite  Divine 
Man,  as  the  Creator,  Preserver,  Saviour,  and  Redeemer ; 
as  the  '  Eternally  Ancient  One/  the  essential  substance  of 
aH  being  in  whom,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
Druids  and  the  unperverted  teaching  of  all  the  oldest 
traditions  of  the  eastern  nations  (and  from  remnants 
found  in  the  western  world),  there  was  a  triad  of  essential 
perfections,  '  infinite  Love,  infinite  wisdom,  and  infinite 
power;'  but  He  is  also  constantly  presented  as  our 
Saviour,  Redeemer,  and  Deliverer.  Thus,  says  Milman, 
the  infinite  and  eternal  Father  was  the  Bythos  (or  the 
Divine  LOVE),  together  with  'His  own  first  concep- 
tion,' or  its  existing  form,  'His  Ennoia'  (or  the  Divine 
WISDOM).  This  is  the  divine  substance  and  form  of  the 
first  degree,  the  JEHOTAH  ELOHIM  of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  in  its  'development,  or  self-manifestation,  was  mind 
(Nous)9  whose  appropriate  consort  was  Aletlieia,  or  TRUTH  ;' 
or  the  JESUS  CHRIST  of  the  New  Testament,  from  whom 
proceeded  the  third  degree,  'the  LOGOS  and  ZOE/  the 
WORD  OF  TRUTH,  and  the  HOLY  SPIRIT;  or  God,  as  He 
is  in  Himself,  above  the  heavens,  as  He  became  (or  was  to 
become)  manifest  in  the  flesh  on  earth,  and  as  His  Holy 
Spirit,  or  proceeding  life  which  was  to  be  stamped  upon 
the  'Anthropos  and  Ecclesia/  or  upon  man  and  the 
church/' 

The  Druid  Triads  declare  that : 

"  Three  things  evince  what  God  has  done,  and  will  do? 
Infinite  Power,  Infinite  Wisdom,  and  Infinite  Love ;  for 
there  is  nothing  that  these  attributes  want,  of  power,  of 
knowledge,  or  of  will  to  perform/1 

"The  three  regulations  of  God  towards  giving  existence 
to  everything:  to  annihilate  the  power  of  evil,  to  assist  all 
that  is  good,  and  to  make  discrimination  manifest  that  it 
might  bo  known  what  should  and  what  should  not  be.11 


THE   DIVINE  TRINITY.  155 

"  Three  things  will  infallibly  be  done :  all  that  is  possi- 
ble for  the  potuer,  for  the  wisdom,  and  for  the  love  of  God 
to  perform." 

"  Three  things  it  is  impossible  that  God  should  not  per- 
form :  what  is  most  beneficial,  what  all  most  need,  and 
what  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all  things." 

"  Three  things  proceed  from  the  primeval  Unities :  all 
of  life,  all  that  is  good,  and  all  power/' 

"  God  consists  necessarily  of  three  things :  the  greatest 
of  life,  the  greatest  of  knowledge,  and  the  greatest  of 
power,  and  of  what  is  the  greatest  there  can  be  no  more 
than  one  of  anything." 

"  Is  not  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  the 
Godhead  foreshadowed,  in  the  foregoing,  in  a  light  which 
is  consistent  with  rationality?  It  would  appear  to  be." — 
Rev,  C.  A.  Dunham  s  Letters  from  Wales. 

The  New  Testament  treats  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost;  and  doubtless  some  of  our  readers  will  inquire: 
"  If  these  names  do  not  signify  three  persons,  what  do  they 
mean  ? " 

In  both  Matthew  and  Luke  we  are  distinctly  taught,  .that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  no  human  father.  In  the 
Gospel  of  Luke  we  read  that  the  Angel  Gabriel  was  sent 
unto  a  virgin  named  Mary:  "and  said  unto  her,  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest 
shall  overshadow  thee;  therefore  also  that  holy  thing 
which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
God," 

The  skeptic,  and  the  denier  of  Divine  revelation,  make 
light  of  the  idea  that  our  Saviour  had  no  human  father,  ' 
and  declare  such  a  birth  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature 
and  therefore  impossible,  We  have  already  fully  eonsid* 
ered  this  objection ;  but  aa  it  is  often  heard,  at  the  risk  of 
repeating  in  substance  a  few  lines,  wo  will  inquire:  If  it 
could  hav0  been  more  difficult,  or  more  of  a  violation  of 
the  laws  of  nature  for  our  Heavenly  Father  to  create  a 
human  form  by  tha  aid  of  a  Batumi  mother,  than  it  was 


156  SKEPTICISM   AJyD   DIVINE   HEVELATIuN. 

for  Him  to  create  the  first  man  and  woman  who  existed  on 
earth  without  either  natural  father  or  mother  ?  Geology 
teaches  that  man  has  not  always  existed  upon  the  earth ; 
and  his  creation,  whether  he  was  created  a  man,  as  most 
Christians  believe,  or  from  development  from  the  lower 
orders  of  the  animal  kingdom,  as  some  believe,  was  unmis- 
takably a  special  effort  of  creative  energy.  And  it  would 
seem  almost  self-evident,  that  few  things  are  more  un- 
reasonable, and  contrary  to  acknowledged,  even  manifest 
facts,  than  such  objections  against  the  Divinity  of  our 
Saviour.  With  him  whose  reverence  for  the  Divine 
Word  has  not  been  impaired,  and  who  delights  in  the 
Law  of  the  Lord,  such  objections  do  not  weigh,  but  he 
decides  this  question  by  its  merits. 

The  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee,  was 
the  prophetic  annunciation  of  the  angel.  There  can  be 
but  one  Highest,  and  that  is  Jehovah.  Jehovah,  then,  is 
the  Father  of  the  Humanity  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  the  angel  Gabriel.  The 
Son,  then,  was  that  humanity  born  in  time. 

The  words  which  are  sometimes  translated  "  Holy 
Ghost/'  properly  signify  a  holy  breathing,  or  exhalation, 
and  is  a  going  forth  of  the  Divine  through  the  humanity. 
Therefore  we  read  that  our  Lord,  after  His  resurrection, 
breathed  on  His  disciples,  and  said  unto  them,  "  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost"  (John  xx.  22). 

We  are  taught  by  the  herald  of  the  New  Dispensation,, 
Emanuel  Swedenborg,  that  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there 
is  a  Divine  Trinity,  consisting  of  the  all-begetting  Divinity 
which  is  called  the  Father,  the  Humanity  which  is  called 
the  Son,  and  the  proceeding  Divine,  which  is  called  the 
Holy  Spirit.  (A.  R.  962.) 

Thus  the  stone  which  sectarian  builders  have  too  fre- 
quently rejected,  has  indeed  become  the  head  of  the 
corner;  even  the  corner-stone  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
which  is  now  descending  from  God  out  of  heaven.  And 
the  man  of  this  new  age,  in  paying  supreme  homage  to  the 


THE   DIVINE   TRIKITY.  157 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  worships  all  the  adorable  Trinity,  for 
he  worships  the  Father  in  the  Son ;  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Divine  proceeding  sphere  of  the  Son  from  the  Father 
operating  upon  man. 

That  we  may  understand  more  clearly  the  Divine 
Trinity,  let  us  examine  the  trinity  in  man ;  for  we  read 
that  man  was  created  in  the  image  of  God.  If  this  be 
true,  and  in  God  exists  a  trinity,  in  man  must  exist  a 
finite  image  of  that  trinity.  In  man  exists  a  will,  or  a 
receptacle  for  love  or  affections ;  an  understanding,  or  a 
receptacle  for  wisdom  or  truth  ;  and  through  the  latter 
the  affections  flow  forth  into  thoughts,  words,  and  acts; 
clothed  as  it  were  in  the  understanding — a  manifestation 
of  our  affections  to  others,  and  by  which  they  are  affected 
for  good  or  evil.  So  in  the  Lord,  the  giver  of  all  that 
man  receives,  we  have  the  Divine  Love  or  the  Father,  the 
Divine  Wisdom  or  the  truth  as  the  Son,  and  the  goings 
forth  of  the  Divine  Love  or  affections  through  the  Divine 
wisdom  or  truth,  clothed  by  the  latter  as  Divine  thoughts 
and  words,  and  Providential  rulings  descending  as  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  influence  and  bless  men. 

How  beautiful  and  sublimely  true  then  are  the  first  few 
verses  of  St.  John's  Gospel^  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  (or  Divine  Truth)  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him,  and  without 
him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made.  In  him  was 
life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men/'  It  is  manifest 
that  the  Divine  Truth  is  light  to  man's  spirit. 

But  let  us  examine  this  great  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in 
a  still  lower,  or  more  external  plane  ;  for  we  read  that 
"The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us  (and  we 
beheld  His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father)  full  of  grace  and  truth."  That  we  may  the  more 
readily  comprehend  the  subject,  let  us  turn  again  to  the 
trinity  in  man.  Man  has  a  soul  and  body,  and  through 
his  body  goes  forth  his  spirit  into  words  and  acts.  Jeho- 


158  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

vah  or  the  Father,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  indwelling 
soul  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  latter  had  no  human 
father  ;  the  body  or  Son  was  from  Mary,  and  through  this 
body  the  Divine  flowed  down  in  words  of  wisdom  and  acts 
of  goodness  and  mercy  to  mant  Truth  is  the  form  of  love, 
and  it  alone  can  manifest  a  good  affection.  Therefore  the 
Lord  was  manifested  to  men  by  the  truth,  or  the  Father 
in  the  Son,  or  "  God  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
Himself." 

How  mystery  disappears,  or  vanishes,  from  the  Divine 
Trinity  when,  without  preconceived  opinions  or  prejudice, 
it  is  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  Holy  Word  in  its  literal 
sense,  we  hope  to  be  able  to  show  to  the  satisfaction  of 
many ;  but  if  the  reader  would  be  able  to  see  this  doctrine 
in  all  of  its  fullness  and  beauty,  he  must  read  the  writings 
of  Sweden borg,  and  study  the  spiritual  sense  as  unfolded 
by  the  science  of  correspondences ;  for  it  is  the  spirit  that 
giveth  life  to  the  letter,  and  God  in  His  great  mercy  to  us 
has  at  this  day  revealed  to  us  the  true  meaning  of  the 
Holy  Word,  and  the  law  in  accordance  with  which  it  was 
written,  so  that  he  who  runneth  may  read. 

Man  not  only  inherits  a  material  body  from  the  mother, 
but  he  also  inherits  an  inclination  to  pervert  his  passions, 
appetites,  and  desires  ;  for  we  see  in  the  hereditary  inclina- 
tions and  capacity  of  the  child,  both  as  to  the  affections 
and  intellect,  the  mother  as  well  as  the  father  represented. 
So  our  Saviour  not  only  possessed  a  Divine  nature  from 
the  Father,  but  He  also  inherited,  as  has  already  been  inti- 
mated, from  the  mother,  Mary,  human  affections,  and  even 
inclinations  to  those  evils  in  which  the  Jewish  race  were 
sunken;  therefore  we  read  that  He  was  subject  to  like 
passions  with  other  men.  Had  He  not  inherited  an  in- 
clination to  evils  from  the  mother,  He  could  not  have 
been  tempted,  for  it  is  evident  the  Divine  could  not  bee 
tempted  to  do  evil ;  nor  can  there  be  any  temptations 
where  neither  active  nor  passive  inclinations  to  evil  exist. 
No  one  is  to  blame  for  his  hereditary  inclinations—- 


THE   DIVINE  TRINITY.  159 

original  sin  is  a  myth — therefore  the  Lord  was  without 
sin,  for  He  overcame  His  hereditary  inclinations  to  evil. 

Man  receives  from  the  Lord  conscience,  and  the  capa- 
city to  elevate  his  thoughts  into,  or  so  as  to  see,  the  truths 
of  the  Divine  Word,  which  teach  him  the  life  of  regenera- 
tion :  and  when  man  wills  to  lead  such  a  life,  the  Lord 
enables  him  to  overcome  both  his  hereditary  and  acquired 
inclinations ;  not  in  a  day,  for  it  is  the  work  of  a  lifetime. 
The  Lord's  glorification  was  typical  of  man's  regeneration; 
and  as  the  former  was  only  perfected  when  the  humanity 
had  passed  through  the  various  temptations  of  which  we 
read  in  the  Gospels,  even  to  the  last  great  temptation  on 
.the  cross,  when  in  agony  the  humanity  cried  to  the  Divine 
within :  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" 
"It  is  finished,"  He  cried,  and  gave  up  the  ghost.  As  the 
final  hour  approached  before  His  crucifixion,  in  the  gar- 
den, we  read  that  "He  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying. 
0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me;" 
bat  He  is  given  the  strength  to  respond  :  "Nevertheless, 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt ; "  and  in  His  next  prayer 
He  prayed,  saying,  "  0  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not 
pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done." 

So  with  man ;  the  Lord  tempers  the  winds  to  the  shorn 
lamb,  and  it  is  only  as  the  Christian  gains  strength  to 
overcome,  that  he  is  permitted  to  encounter  the  most 
fearful  temptations,  and  the  last  hours  of  a  long  life  may 
arrive  before  he  is  able  to  bear  the  last  great  temptation; 
if  in  fact  he  is  ever  able  to  withstand  it  in  this  world. 
Almost  constantly,  from  the  very  beginning  of  regenera- 
tion, is  there  a  warfare  between  the  new  will,  which  the 
Lord  has  given  the  Christian,  and  the  unlawful  selfish 
desires  and  sensual  appetites  of  the  natural  man. 

"There  are  in  man,"  says  Swedenborg,  "two  minds,  the 
one  superior  or  interior,  which  is  called  the  spiritual  mind, 
and  the  other  inferior  or  exterior,  which  is  called  the 
natural  mind.  The  natural  mind  in  man  is  first  opened 
and  cultivated,  because  this  is  proximately  extant  to  the 


160  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

world  (or  in  contact  with  it).  The  spiritual  mind  is 
opened  and  cultivated  afterward,  but  only  in  proportion 
as  man  in  life  receives  the  knowledges  of  truth  from  the 
Word,  or  from  doctrine  derived  from  the  Word;  where- 
fore it  is  not  opened  with  those  who  do  not  apply  those 
knowledges  to  life."  We  here  see  the  reason  why  evil 
men  are  not  troubled  like  other  men. 

But  the  man  in  whom  the  life  of  regeneration  has  com- 
menced, has,  as  it  were,  two  wills  or  two  minds,  one  will- 
ing to  do  good  and  the  other  evil.  The  Apostle  manifestly 
alludes  to  this  double  nature  when  he  says:  "I  find 
then  a  law,  that  when  1  would  do  good,  evil  is  present 
with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man ;  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  cap. 
tivity  to  the  law  of  sin"  (Rom.  vii.  21  to  23).  In  anothev 
place,  Paul  says:  " For  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit; 
and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh ;  and  these  are  contrary 
the  one  to  the  other  "  (Gal.  v.  17). 

Rev.  Mr.  Barrett  says  truly:  "Now  that  the  Apostle 
does  not  here  mean  by  the  flesh  man's  material  body,  but 
the  external  or  natural  mind,  in  contradistinction  to  what 
he  calls  '  the  inward  man/  is  manifest  from  some  of  the 
things  which  he  afterwards  mentions  as  6  the  works  of  the 
flesh ; '  such  as  hatreds,  emulations,  wrath,  strife,  envy- 
ings,  etc.,  all  of  which  proceed  not  from  the  material  body, 
but  evidently  from  the  natural  unregenerate  mind." 

Every  man  who  is  earnestly  trying  to  lead  a  good  and 
true  life  feels  that  he  has  a  higher  and  lower  nature,  and 
that  he  must  look  to  the  higher  to  guide  and  not  to  the 
lower,  as  the  human  of  the  Lord  looked  to  the  Divine 
within,  before  that  human  was  fully  united,  or  made  one 
with  the  Divine;  but  because  of  these  two  conflicting 
states  or  minds,  of  which  a  man  is  conscious  within  him- 
self, he  is  not  two  persons,  nor  has  he  two  separate  souls, 
or  consciousnesses;  nor  had  the  Psalmist  when  he  ad- 
dressed his  soul  in  the  following  sublime  language :  "  Why 


THE   DIVINE  TRINITY.  161 

art  thou  cast  down,  0  my  soul  ?  and  why  art  thou  dis- 
quieted within  me  ?  hope  thou  in  God ;  for  I  shall  yet 
praise  Him  who  is  the  health  of  my  countenance,  and  my 
God  "  (Psalms  xlii.  11).  Nor  are  such  appeals  to  the  soul, 
as  though  it  were  a  distinct  person,  uncommon  in  the 
Holy  Word.  The  Psalmist  exclaims :  "  Bless  the  Lord,  0 
my  soul."  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  the  Lord,  0  my 
soul." 

We  are  taught  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  that: 
"  Because  the  Lord  had  from  the  beginning  a  human  from 
the  mother,  and  successively  put  off  this,  therefore,  while 
he  was  in  the  world,  He  had  two  states,  which  are  called 
the  state  of  humiliation  and  the  state  of  glorification  or 
union  with  the  Divine,  which  is  called  the  Father.  The 
state,  of  humiliation  was  in  the  time  and  in  the  degree 
that  He  was  in  the  human  from  the  mother;  and  the 
state  of  glorification,  at  ~the  time  and  in  the  degree  that 
He  was  in  the  human  from  the  Father.  In  the  state  of 
humiliation  He  prayed  to  the  Father,  as  to  one  different 
from  himself;  but  in  the  state  of  glorification  He  spoke 
with  the  Father  as  with  himself.  In  this  state  He  said 
that  the  Father  was  in  Him  and  He  in  the  Father,  and 
that  the  Father  and  He  were  one ;  but  in  the  state  of 
humiliation  He  underwent  temptations  and  suffered  the 
cross,  and  prayed  that  the  Father  might  not  forsake  Him; 
for  the  Divine  could  not  be  tempted,  and  still  less  suffer 
the  cross.  From  these  things  now  it  is  manifest,  that  by 
temptations, .and  continued  victories  over  them,  and  by 
the  passion  of  the  cross,  which  was  the  last  of  the  tempta- 
tions, He  fully  conquered  the  hells  and  fully  glorified  the 
human."  (D.  L.  35. ) 

After  His  resurrection  the  Lord  appeared  unto  His  dis- 
ciples and  spake  unto  them  saying :  "  All  power  is  given 
unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  "  (Matt,  xxviii.  18).  How 
clearly  is  this  great  doctrine  taught  in  this  passage,  that 
the  Father  is  in  the  Son,  and  that  it  is  through  the  glori- 
fied Divine  humanity  that  thenceforth  all  power  is  to  be 


162  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

exercised  both  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  So  that  being 
"  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost"  does  not  signify  in  the  name  of  three 
Gods,  or  of  three  Divine  persons,  but  in  the  name  of  the 
three  essentials  of  the  one  God — the  Divine  Love  or 
Father,  the  Divine  Humanity  or  Son,  and  the  Divine  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Lord,  or  the  Holy  Ghost  or  Holy  Spirit. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  worship  a  being  of  whom  we 
can  form  no  image,  and  to  attempt  it  is  to  worship  an 
unknown  God.  How  then  can  we  worship  the  Father 
except  as  He  has  manifested  Himself  in  the  Son?  "Ye 
have  not  heard  the  voice  of  the  Father  at  any  time,  nor 
seen  His  shape"'  (John  v.  37).  "No  man  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time :  the  only  begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him." 

"  Jesus  said  unto  him  (Thomas),  I  am  the  way  and  the 
truth  and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  to  the  Father,  but  by 
me"  (John  xiv.  f>).  And  again  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
John  we  read  :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that 
entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold,  but  climbeth 
up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber." 
*  *  *  But  when  "they  understood  not  what  things 
they  were  which  He  spake  unto  them"  (6th  verse),  Jesus 
said  "  unto  them  again,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I 
am  the  door  of  the  sheep  "  (7).  "  I  am  the  door ;  by  me 
if  any  man  shall  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved"  (9).  " Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest"  (Matt.  xi.  28). 

"  Jesus  Christ,  then,  is  plainly  the  only  true  object  of 
religious  worship,  for  He  is  the  God  of  Revelation — the 
only  God  revealed  to  men.  He  is,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
manifested  Jehovah —  Immanuel,  or  God  with  us.  He  is 
God  come  down  to  us  in  our  low  estate,  in  order  that  He 
might  raise  us  up  towards  heaven  and  Himself:  in  order 
that  He  might  in  His  own  assumed  Human,  clearly  reveal 
to  us  how  the  principles  of  infinite  truth  and  love  operate 
in  the  redemption  and  salvation  of  men,  and  that  He 


THE   DIVINE   TRINITY.  163 

might  give  to  these  principles  their  fullest  power  and 
effect.  This  is  the  greatest,  most  important,  and  most 
comprehensive  of  all  truths." — Barrett. 

The  Scriptures  declare,  as  we  have  seen,  that  He  is  Im- 
manuel,  or  God  with  us,  and  that  He  is  our  Saviour.  In 
the  Old  Testament,  as  we  have  already  shown,  we  are 
repeatedly  told  that  Jehovah  is  our  Saviour,  and  that  be- 
side Him  there  is  no  Saviour;  and  Jehovah  assures  us 
that  He  will  not  give  His  glory  to  another. 

Jesus  Christ  says :  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd :  the  good 
shepherd  givetb  his  life  for  the  sheep — my  sheep  hear  my 
voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me;  and  I  give 
unto  them  eternal  life"  (John  x.).  The  Psalmist  says: 
"Jehovah  is  my  shepherd;  I  shall  not  therefore  want: 
He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures,  He  leadeth 
me  beside  the  still  waters." 

In  the  fortieth  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  read :  "  Say  unto 
the  cities  of  Judah,  behold  your  God.  Behold,  the  Lord 
God  will  come  with  a  strong  hand,  and  His  arm  shall 
rule  for  Him ;  behold.  His  reward  is  with  Him,  and  His 
work  before  Him.  He  shall  feed  His  flock  like  a  shep- 
herd: He  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  His  arm,  and  carry 
them  in  His  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are 
with  young."  Could  language  be  plainer  than  this? — the 
Saviour  of  the  Old  Testament  the  same  person  as  the 
predicted  and  risen  Saviour  of  the  New  Testament — God 
manifest. 

In  the  fifty-fourth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  we  read :  "  Thy 
Maker  is  thy  husband ;  Jehovah  of  Hosts  is  His  name." 
In  the  New  Testament,  Jesus  Christ  is  called  the  Hus- 
band and  Bridegroom,  and  the  Church  His  Wife  and 
Bride. 

In  the  Old  Testament  we  read  that  "  Jehovah  is  a  God 
of  Truth ;  He  is  a  living  God,  and  an  everlasting  King" 
(Jer.  x.  10).  In  the  prophetical  annunciations  of  the 
Lord's  coming,  and  in  the  New  Testament,  Christ  is 
called  King,  Zion's  King,  the  King  of  Israel,  and  also 


164  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of  Lords.  Again,  God  is  called 
a  Rock,  as  in  the  eighteenth  Psalm,  "For  who  is  God, 
save  Jehovah,  or  who  is  a  Rock,  save  our  God  ?  "  St.  Paul 
declares  that  Christ  was  a  rock,  and  that  He  is  a  stone 
laid  for  a  foundation  in  Zion,  "  a  tried  stone,  a  precious 
corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation."  Again,  Jehovah  calls 
Himself  I  Am,  as  in  Exodus  iii.  14  "God  said  unto 
Moses,  I  Am  that  I  Am ;  and  He  said,  Thus  shalt  thou 
say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  Am  hath  sent  me  unto 
you/'  Jesus  calls  Himself  by  the  same  name  in  the 
eighth  chapter  of  John,  for  He  declares :  "  Before  Abra- 
ham was,  I  Am."  And  again  lie  says,  "  If  ye  believe  not 
that  I  am,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins."  "  Then  said  Jesus 
unto  them,  when  ye  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  Man,  then 
/shall  ye  know  that  I  Am." 

Again,  Jehovah  God  calls  himself  the  First  and  Last. 
"  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  king  of  Israel,  and  His  Redeemer 
Jehovah  of  Hosts;  I  am  the  First,  and  I  am  the  Last; 
and  beside  me  there  is  no  God"  (Isaiah  xliv.  6).  Jesus 
Christ  applies  the  same  language  to  himself  in  Revelation: 
"I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  First  and  the  Last.  I  am 
He  that  liveth,  and  was  dead ;  and  behold  I  am  alive  for 
evermore ;  Amen :  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death" 
(first  chapter). 

In  the  Old  Testament  God  is  called  the  Light.  The 
Prophet  Isaiah,  addressing  the  church,  says:  "Jehovah 
shall  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting  light,  and  thy  God  thy 
glory"  (Ix.  19).  John  says  that  "God  is  Light,  and  in 
Him  is  no  darkness  at  all ; "  and  he  also  says  that  the 
Word  which  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  men,  "  was 
the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into 
the  world."  Jesus  declares  that  "  He  is  .the  Light  of  the 
world  ;  he  that  followeth  Me,"  he  says,  "shall  not  walk  in 
darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life." 

When  Paul  was  journeying  toward  Damascus,  he  says: 
"I  saw  in  the  way  a  light  from  heaven,  above  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun>  shining  round  about  me;)  and  them  that 


THE    DIVIHE   TKI2STITY.  1  /J 

journeyed  with  me."  And  ifc  is  important  to  observe  that, 
when  in  reply  to  the  voice  which  he  heard,  he  inquired, 
"Who  art  thou,  Lord?"  the  answer  was,  "I  am  Jesus, 
whom  thou  persecutest." 

The  Psalmist  says  :  "Forever,  0  Jehovah,  thy  Word  is 
established  in  heaven "  (cxix.  89) ;  and  in  the  fortieth 
chapter  of  Isaiah  we  are  told  that  this  "  Word  of  our  God 
shall  stand  forever."  Jesus  said,  "Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  my  Word  shall  not  pass  away"  (Matt, 
xxiv.  35).  In  Deuteronomy  viii.  3,  we  read  that  "man 
doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every  word  that  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  doth  man  live." 
Jesus  said,  "I  am  the  living  bread  that  came  down  from 
heaven,  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever; 
and  the  bread  that  I  shall  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will 
give  for  the  life  of  the  world."  -Again,  "It  is  the  spirit 
that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing ;  the  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you  are  spirit  and  are  life"  (John  vi.). 

In  Second  Chronicles  we  read :  "  0  Judah,  and  ye  inhab- 
itants of  Jerusalem,  believe  in  Jehovah  your  God,  so  shall 
ye  be  established."  Jesus  Christ  says :  "  I  am  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life  ;  he  that  belie veth  in  me,  though  he 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  whosoever  liveth  and 
belie  veth  in  me  shall  never  die  "  (John  xi.  25  and  26). 

In  Isaiah  xlv.  22,  we  read :  "  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye 
saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there 
is  none  else";  "a  just  God  and  Saviour,  there  is  none 
beside  me."  Jesus  saith :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  who 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest" 
(Matt.  xi.  28). 

We  find,  then,  that  the  same  attributes  are  predicated  of 
Jesus  Chrst  as  of  Jehovah.  He  is  therefore,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Peter,  our  "God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 
"To  Him  be  glory  both  now  and  forever"  (1  Peter  xi. 
and  last  chapter).  Truly,  in  the  language  of  Simon  Peter, 
we  may  exclaim:  "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal  life  "  (John  vi.  68). 


166  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

A  knowledge  of  the  Lord  was  possessed  in  the  Christian 
church  at  its  commencement.  In  the  Apocryphal  New 
Testament  (a  work  which,  says  a  distinguished  writer,  is 
valuable  on  account  of  its  reflecting  to  us  the  opinions  of 
some  of  the  early  Christians),  Nicodemus  says :  "  And  I 
know  now  that  He  is  Almighty  God,  and  mighty  in  His 
human  nature,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  mankind  "  (xv.  19). 
Again  he  says:  "And  so  it  appears  that  Jesus,  whom  we 
crucified,  is  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  true  and 
Almighty  God  "  (xxii.  20).  Clement  says  :  "  Brethren,  we 
ought  so  to  think  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  of  God,  as  of  the 
Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead  "  (2  Cor.  i.  1 ).  Ignatius 
repeatedly  speaks  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  says  that 
"God  Himself  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  man,  for  the 
renewal  of  eternal  life"  (Eph.  iv.  13). 

But,  alas !  until  the  dawning  light  of  the  descending 
New  Jerusalem  began  to  dispel  the  darkness,  the  Sun  has 
been  darkened  for  many  centuries  throughout  the  Chris- 
tian world;  or,  in  other  words,  the  Supreme,  sole  and 
exclusive  Divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  has  been 
denied  by  too  many  creed  builders,  and  thus  they  have 
rejected  the  chief  corner-stone.  No  wonder  then  that  all 
has  been  confusion  in  the  Christian  world,  and  that  the 
cry  is  Lo  here,  and  Lo  there,  among  hundreds  of  conflict- 
ing sects — all  claiming  to  be  right.  The  prophetic  annun- 
ciation has  been  fulfilled  :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  there 
shall  not  be  left  he7'e  one  stone  (truth)  upon  another,  that 
shall  not  be  thrown  down"  (Matt.  xxiv.  2).  When  the 
chief  corner-stone  1  or  the  doctrine  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  God  alone,  or  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  is 
rejected  in  the  church,  the  doctrines  built  on  other  foun- 
dations are  built  upon  sandy  foundations,  "for,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  other  foundations  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is 
laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 

The  Unitarian,  in  the  past  more  frequently  than  at  this 
day,  denied  the  Divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
sustained  his  views  by  quoting  some  of  the  passages  which 


THE    DIVINE   TRINITY.  167 

refer  to  the  Lord  before  His  glorification,  or  before  His 
Humanity  was  made  Divine. 

The  Trinitarian  has  also,  in  the  past  more  frequently 
than  to-day,  divided  God  into  three  persons,  and  upon 
this  foundation  has  built  a  system  of  doctrines  entirely 
inconsistent  with  the  strict  personal  unity  of  God.  If  the 
various  churches  were  all  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  but 
one  God,  and  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  that  one  God, 
many  of  the  prevailing  doctrines  would  all  vanish  speedily, 
for  they  would  have  no  foundation — not  even  a  sandy 
one — for  all  men  would  see  that  faith  separate  from 
charity  is  dead,  and  that  all  genuine  religion  has  relation  to 
life — must  be  lived.  "With  one  known  God  there  can  be 
unity  in  the  church,  for  there  is  a  centre ;  and  as  this  grand 
central  doctrine  is  gradually  dawning  in  the  world,  a 
spirit  of  charity  and  brotherly  love  toward  other  denomi- 
nations is  slowly  but  surely  taking  the  place,  among 
religious  teachers  and  laymen,  of  the  old,  cold,  harsh,  sec- 
tarian spirit. 

If  Jesus  Christ  is  God,  and  in  Him  dwelleth  all  the 
fullness  of  the  Divinity,  it  is  plain  that  He  is  our  Father 
in  heaven,  and  that  we  ought  to  go  directly  to  Him,  and 
to  acknowledge  no  other,  and  to  try  to  think  of  no  other, 
and  to  pray  to  no  other  God  besides  Him.  But,  alas  ! 
how  is  it  in  the  Christian  world,  even  to-day?  are  prayers 
always  or  even  generally  addressed  to  the  manifested  Jeho- 
vah, or  to  Jesus  Christ?  Let  every  man  answer  this  ques- 
tion for  himself;  we  would  barely  suggest  that  it  would 
always  be  well  to  remember  the  Lord's  words :  "  No  one 
cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me."  How  many  are  there  in 
the  Christian  world  that  fully  realize  that  the  Father  dwells 
in  the  Son,  and  that  they  are  one — the  one  known  God  ? 

Was  there  no  need  then  of  the  Lord's  Second  Coming, 
when  He  Avas  so  generally  denied,  as  He  was  over  a  cen- 
tury ago,  at  the  time  Swedenborg  wrote  the  things  revealed 
to  him  by  the  Lord  ? 

In  the  writings  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg  we  have  re- 


168  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

vealed  to  us  the  glorious  truths  of  the  Lord's  Second 
Coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  not  of  earth — a  coming 
in  power  and  great  glory;  coming  down  to  man's  intel- 
lectual perceptions,  and  satisfying  all  the  highest  demands 
of  his  reason. 

The  sacred  Scriptures  are  opened  by  the  revealed  science 
of  correspondences — the  correspondence  of  all  natural 
things  to  spiritual  things.  "  That  there  is  a  relation  of 
some  sort"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  existing  between  the 
visible  creation  and  the  invisible,  between  the  objects  of 
the  natural  universe  and  the  subjects  of  the  spiritual  uni- 
verse, the  things  seen  by  man  and  the  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions of  man,  is  evident.  Of  this,  the  least  reflecting  mus^ 
be  convinced.  The  language  of  the  people  proves  this  per- 
ception. Poetry  confirms  this  perception  more  abundantly- 
That  there  must  be  such  a  relation  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  all  things  were  created  with  a  distinct  reference  to 
man,  and  that  man  was  created  W7th  a  definite  relation 
to  God — His  image.  There  must  be  an  orderly  law  of 
sequence  from  the  lowest  things  up  to  man,  and  from  man 
up  to  the  Divine  Humanity  of  God-  All  created  things 
bear  some  relation  and  possess  some  resemblance  to  the 
Creator.  Outbirths  from  God,  they  must  be  to  a  certain 
extent  mirrors  in  which  God  is  made  visible.  St.  Paul 
expresses  it:  'For  the  invisible  things  oi  Him  [God]  from 
the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood 
by  the  things  which  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and 
Godhead'  (Rom.  i.  20).  In  the  visible  we  behold  the 
symbols  or  representatives  or  correspondences  of  the  in- 
visible things  of  God. 

"  Man's  relation  to  God  may  be  clearly  seen.  He  was 
formed  to  be  'an  image  and  likeness'  of  his  august  Crea- 
tor. In  him  were,  therefore,  made  receptacles,  as  we  have 
already  intimated,  into  which  the  essentials  of  the  Divine 
Nature  might  finitely  flow.  A  marred  image,  yet  a  finite 
miniature  of  God!  The  Divine  Love  might  flow  into  his 
capacity  to  love,  or  his  will:  the  Divine  Wisdom  might 


THE   DIVINE   TRINITY.  169 

flow  into  his  capacity  to  be  wise,  or  his  understanding. 
The  Infinite  Power  of  God  is  finitely  imaged  in  his  power. 
In  man,  then,  is  therefore  a  beautiful  finite  image  of  the 
Divine  Trinity.  The  things  of  God  may  be  received  by 
and  finitely  seen  in  man.  All  the  dispensations  of  God's 
Providence  have  this  one  great  end — that  man  may  be- 
come an  agent  under  the  Lord,  inspired  by  His  Love, 
directed  by  His  Wisdom.  Not  that  man's  will  and  under- 
standing should  become  absorbed  into,  but  infilled  by,  the 
Divine  Love  and  Wisdom.  That  thus  man  might  to  all 
eternity  become  more  and  more  fully  the  child  of  his 
Divine  Father;  a  free  being,  yet  freely  choosing  to  be  led 
and  taught  by  his  august  Creator." 

Now  is  being  fulfilled  the  prophecies  in  regard  to  the 
descent  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  "Behold  I  make  all  things 
new."  Under  the  figure  of  the  New  Jerusalem  a  New 
Dispensation — not  a  new  sect — is  being  established,  in 
which  there  shall  be  no  mental  night  or  darkness,  "for 
the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light."  St.  John  declares  that 
he  saw  no  temple  therein,  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and 
the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  "By  the  Lord  God 
Almighty,"  says  Swedenborg,  "is  meant  the  Lord  from 
eternity,  who  is  Jehovah  Himself;  and  by  the  Lamb  is 
signified  His  Divine  Humanity."  Two  beings  are  no 
more  signified  in  this  and  similar  passages  in  the  New 
Testament  than  there  are  in  the  following  from  Isaiah 
xliv.  6 :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  the  King  of  Israel,  and  His 
Eedeemer  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  I  am  the  First  and  I  am  the 
Last,  and  besides  Me  there  is  no  God." 

Is  it  of  little  or  no  moment  whether  we  acknowledge  or 
reject  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  His  Second  Coming,  or 
that  we  say,  that  we  have  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  the 
Gospels  and  the  Epistles,  what  need  we  of  Him  ?  Were 
the  Jews  guiltless  who  rejected  the  Lord  at  His  First 
Coming?  Shall  it  be  said  of  any  of  us,  having  eyes  ye 
will  see  not,  ears  have  ye  but  you  hear  not?  Or  shall  we 
prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good  ?  that 


170  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

it  be  not  said  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  than  for  us,  in  the  day  of  Judgment. 

We  have  dwelt  thus  at  length  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord  and  the  Trinity,  for  they  arenas  has  already  been 
stated,  fundamental.  No  man  can  reasonably  be  expected 
to  rise  in  life  superior  to  the  idea  which  he  cherishes  of 
the  God  whom  he  worships.  If  his  God  in  his  estimation 
is  cruel,  harsh,  unforgiving,  actuated  by  hatred,  envy,  jeal- 
ousy, requiring  to  be  appeased  before  He  can  forgive,  and 
punishes  his  enemies,  the  man  is  reasonably  sure  to  in- 
dulge in  such  passions  and  actions  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  How  important  to  all  such  is  the  law  of  corres- 
pondences, which  shows  conclusively  that  all  such  lan- 
guage, when  applied  to  the  Lord  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
is  but  the  language  of  appearances,  the  real  truth  being 
that  God  is  love,  and  unchangeably  so,  and  that  He  never 
hates  and  never  punishes ;  but  sin  carries  with  it  its  own 
consequences,  or  punishment,  if  you  please,  as  causes 
always  produce  their  effects  in  the  spiritual  as  well  as  in 
the  natural  plane. 

XXV. 

Sacrificial  "Worship. 

rTlHAT  sacrifices  have  been  offered  in  worship  by  men 
-X.  of  widely  different  nations  and  races,  even  long 
before  the  Jewish  or  Israelitish  Church  was  established,  is 
well  known.  The  science  of  correspondences,  once  under- 
stood by  all  men  on  earth,  which  has  long  been  lost,  but 
has  now  been  restored  by  the  Lord  through  Swedenborg, 
alone  can  furnish  us  with  a  key  which  will  unlock  the 
mysteries  which  attend  this  subject  and  show  us  their 
origin,  and  their  original  and  true  design. 

"  But,  it  is  asked,  '  What  is  the  strongest  and  most 
conclusive  evidence  which  you  have  to  offer  in  proof  of 
the  truth  and  certainty  of  this  new  science  ? '  We  answer, 
No  evidence  can  be  sufficiently  clear  and  full  to  satisfy  a 


SACRIFICIAL   WORSHIP.  171 

mind  that  will  not  look  at  it,  or  that  has  no  taste  nor 
desire  for  things  beyond  the  gift  of  this  world.  But  if 
even  such  a  person  were  entirely  unacquainted  with  the 
Chinese  language,  and  should  remove  to  China,  and  there 
learn  to  speak  and  write  that  language,  so  as  to  read  their 
books  and  understand  them,  and  should  find  that  they 
contained  a  rational  and  consecutive  chain  of  ideas  and 
history  of  events,  he  certainly  would  be  convinced  that  they 
had  a  language,  and  that  he  had  learned  it.  It  is  precisely 
so  with  the  language  of  analogy.  It  must  be  examined 
and  learned,  and  tested  by  the  reading  of  analogical  lan- 
guage, before  it  can  be  understood. 

"  Now  man,  in  true  order,  is  in  the  general  image  and 
likeness  of  God.  Any  other  created  thing  in  true  order 
is  only  an  image  of  some  principle  or  principles  in  God  or 
in  man. 

"  The  order  of  the  outward  creation  of  the  world  was, 
from  lower  things  to  higher,  first  minerals,  then  vege- 
tables, then  animals,  and  finally  man;  thus  orderly  and 
gradually  approximating  by  higher  and  purer  organiza- 
tions the  real  divine  image,  until  God  finally  crowned  the 
creation  with  man,  as  the  sum  total  and  embodiment  of 
all  things  below  him.  When  all  but  man  was  created, 
and  everything  was  in  readiness  to  produce  man,  the  vast 
variety  of  things  scattered  all  over  and  throughout  the 
universe,  were  but  humanity  in  fragments ;  every  single 
thing  was  an  image  of  some  principle  which  was  to  be  in 
man;  and  it  took  them  all,  combined,  to  make  up  the  full 
man.  Man  could  not  exist  until  these  things  were  cre- 
ated ;  for  upon  them  his  body  must  subsist ;  and  through 
them  his  mind  is  to  be  educated. 

"But  when  in  the  process  of  the  creation  all  things 
were  in  readiness  for  the  production  of  man;  when  the 
vast  variety  of  human  principles  lay  scattered  throughout 
the  mineral,  the  vegetable  and  the  animal  kingdoms,  in. 
living,  speaking  forms ;  when  all  nature  was  a  beautiful 
page  of  mental  symbols  in  physical  robes,  without  an 


172  SKEPTICISM' AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

admirer  on  earth ;  with  no  created  rational  being  to  read 
the  expressive  characters  of  that  wonderful  book,  and  to 
love  and  worship  the  Author;  then  it  is  that  we  behold 
Man,  making  his  appearance — Man,  the  sum  total  of  the 
creation,  the  connecting  link  between  God  above  him  and 
nature  below  him,  and  thus,  the  crowning  act  of  the  crea- 
tion. And  when  all  these  materials  were  brought  harmo- 
niously together,  in  man,  and  all  was  pronounced  good, 
the  vast  universe  corresponded  to  man,  and  man  to  his 
Maker." — Rev.  A.  Silver. 

"The  animals  of  the  earth,"  says  Swedenborg,  "in 
general,  correspond  to  affections;  the  tame  and  useful 
animals  correspond  to  good  affections,  and  the  fierce  and 
useless  kinds  to  evil  affections.  In  particular,  oxen  and 
bullocks  correspond  to  the  affections  of  the  natural  mind ; 
sheep  and  lambs  to  the  affections  of  the  spiritual  mind ; 
and  birds  or  other  winged  creatures,  according  to  their 
species,  correspond  to  the  intellectual  faculties  and  exer- 
cises of  both  minds.  Hence  it  is  that  various  animals, 
as  oxen,  bullocks,  rams,  sheep,  she-goats,  he-goats,  and 
male  and  female  lambs,  also  pigeons  and  doves,  were 
employed  in  the  Israelitish  Church,  which  was  a  represen- 
tative one,  for  holy  uses,  it  being  of  them  that  the  sacri- 
fices and  burnt  offerings  consisted;  for  when  so  employed, 
they  correspond  to  certain  spiritual  things  and  were 
understood  in  heaven  according  to  their  correspondences. 
Animals,  also,  according  to  their  genera  and  species,  ac- 
tually are  affections ;  the  reason  of  which  is  because  they 
live ;  and  nothing  can  have  life  except  from  affection,  and 
according  to  it.  Hence,  likewise,  it  is  that  every  animal 
possesses  an  innate  knowledge  according  to  the  affection 
of  its  life.  Man,  too,  as  to  his  natural  man,  is  like  the 
animals;  wherefore,  also,  it  is  usual  to  compare  him  to 
them  in  common  discourse.  Thus  a  man  of  a  mild  dispo- 
sition is  called  a  sheep  or  lamb;  a  man  of  rough  or  fierce 
temper  is  called  a  bear  or  wolf;  a  crafty  person  is  termed 
a  fox  or  a  serpent,  and  so  in  other  instances." 


SACRIFICIAL   WORSHIP.  173 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Noble,  from  whose  "Appeal"  to  the 
Christian  world  in  behalf  of  the  writings  and  disclo- 
sures of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  we  have  selected  most  of 
what  follows  in  this  section,  says :  "  The  sacrifices  of  the 
Mosaic  law  are  generally  allowed  to  have  been  of  a  typical 
nature;  and  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem  bring 
the  antitypes  of  these  types  to  view  in  the  most  clear  and 
satisfactory  manner. 

"First,  then,  it  shall  be  shown  that  the  sacrifices  of  the 
Mosaic  law  were  not  meant  to  represent  the  punishment 
of  sin,  but  the  hallowing  of  every  affection  and  principle 
of  the  mind,  and  thus  of  the  whole  man,  to  the  Lord. 
Secondly,  that  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  did  not  consist 
in  His  suffering  the  punishment  due  to  sin,  but  in  His 
hallowing  every  principle  of  His  Human  Nature  to  the 
Godhead,  till  at  length  His  Human  Nature  became  a  living 
sacrifice,  cr  fully  consecrated,  sanctified,  and  hallowed,  by 
perfect  union  with  His  Divinity.  Thirdly,  that  the  Lord 
'is  called  a  Mediator  in  respect  to  His  Humanity,  because 
in  this  He  has  opened  to  us  a  new  and  living  way  of  access, 
or  medium  of  approach  to  His  Divinity. 

"  The  prevailing  opinion  in  regard  to  the  Levitical  sacri- 
fices is,  that  the  slaying  of  an  animal,  and  the  burning  of 
it,  or  of  part  of  it,  on  the  altar,  represented  the  punish- 
ment due  to  the  offerer,  and  that,  in  sacrificing  the  animal, 
the  offerer  was  considered  as  entreating  that  the  suffering 
inflicted  upon  it  might  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  the  punish- 
ment deserved  by  himself.  This  is  the  notion  which  the 
Jewish  Eabbins  have  of  the  subject ;  who  say  also,  that  a 
confession  of  sins  was  made  over  the  victim,  wheh  the 
offerer  laid  his  hand  upon  its  head,  and  thus  that  the  sins 
were  considered  as  transferred  to  the  animal,  and  punished 
in  it  instead  of  the  offerer.  It  is,  however,  certain,  that 
this  is  merely  one  of  the  traditions  of  the  Jews,  by  which, 
as  in  so  many  other  instances,  they  have  perverted  the 
divine  law;  for  although  the  offerer  was  commanded  to 
lay  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  the  victim,  not  one  word  is 


174  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVIXE   REVELATION. 

said  in  the  Scriptures  of  any  confession  of  sins  to  be  then 
made.  The  only  instance  in  which  a  confession  "of  sins 
accompanied  the  laying  on  of  the  hand,  is  that  of  the 
scape-goat;  respecting  which  Moses  commanded  that 
6  Aaron  should  lay  both  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the 
live-goat,  and  confess  over  it  all  the  iniquities  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in  all  their 
sins,  putting  them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat '  (Lev.  xvi. 
21).  But  this  goat  being  thus  representatively  loaded 
with  sins,  was  considered  as  unclean,  and  instead  of  being 
sacrificed,  was  ssnt  away  into  the  wilderness:  even  the 
man  that  was  employed  to  send  it  away  was  considered  as 
contaminated  by  the  operation,  and  rendered  unclean  also,' 
so  that  he  was  required  to  wash  his  clothes  and  bathe  his 
flesh  in  water,  before  he  was  allowed  to  return  into  the 
camp  (verse  26).  Seeing  then,  when  it  was  intended  that 
a  confession  of  sins  should  be  made  over  a  victim,  the 
command  for  it  is  so  expressly  given,  can  it  be  supposed 
that  a  similar  confession  was  intended  to  be  made  over  all 
the  victims,  when  it  is  never  commanded  at  all?  And 
when  the  representative  effect  of  this  confession  of  sins 
over  an  animal  was  to  render  it  unclean,  so  that  to  have 
offered  it  up  in  sacrifice  would  have  been  an  abomination, 
and  the  only  orderly  way  of  disposing  of  it  was  to  send  it 
away  into  the  wilderness,  to  denote  the  rejection  of  man's 
sins,  separated  from  himself,  to  hell  from  whence  they 
came ;  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  animals  actually  sacri- 
ficed were  in  like  manner  rendered  unclean,  by  a  similar 
confession  of  sins  being  made  over  them,  and  thus  a, sim- 
ilar'representative  transfer  of  sins  to  them?  The  idea  is 
monstrous  in  the  extreme. 

"The  reason  then  why,  in  all  sacrifices,  he  that  offered 
the  sacrifice  was  directed  to  put  his  hand  upon  the  head  of 
the  victim,  was,  not  by  that  act  representatively  to  trans- 
fer his  sins — for  to  do  this  the  sins  were  also  to  be  con- 
fessed over  it,  and  that  by  positive  command,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  scape-goat — but  to  express  communication  be- 


SACRIFICIAL  WORSHIP.  175 

tween  the  offerer  and  his  sacrifice,  which  was  necessary  to 
give  the  animal  its  representative  efficacy.  The  animals 
offered  in  sacrifice  represented  the  good  affections  of 
various  kinds  from  which  the  Lord  is  to  be  worshipped ; 
but  without  this  symbol  of  communication  between  the 
offerer  arid  the  animal,  the  latter  would  not  represent 
any  good  affection  presented  by  him;  to  imply  that  the 
offerer  himself  wished  to  worship  the  Lord  by  and  from 
the  good  affection  which  the  animal  represented,  it  was 
necessary  that  he  should  perform  the  representative  rite  of 
putting  his  hand  upon  its  head;  after  which  the  animal 
represented  a  good  affection  cherished  by  him  and  pre- 
sented by  him  to  the  Lord,  from  a  sincere  acknowledg- 
ment that  everything  good  is  from  the  Lord  alone. 

"  Now,  that  this  is  the  true  idea  of  sacrificial  worship, 
is  evident  from  many  parts  of  Scripture;  we  will  just 
select  one  which  is  completely  conclusive.  That  the  put- 
ting of  the  animal  to  death  and  burning  of  it  upon  the 
altar,  does  not  represent  the  punishment  due  to  the 
offerer,  is  clear  from  this  circumstance,  that  the  altar,  on 
which  the  sacrifices  were  offered,  is  called,  in  various 
places,  '  the  table  of  the  Lord/  Thus  the  Lord  says  by 
the  prophet  to  the  priests,  'Ye  have  profaned  it  (that 
is,  the  name  of  the  Lord)  in  that  ye  say,  The  table  of  the 
Lord  is  polluted,  and  the  fruit  thereof,  even  His  meat  (the 
meaty  observe,  of  the  Lord)  is  contemptible.'  Again  :  'Ye 
offer  polluted  brehd  upon  Mine  altar :  and  ye  say,  Where- 
in have  we  polluted  Thee?'  The  answer  is,  'In  that  ye 
say,  The  table  of  the  Lord  is  contemptible.'  Nothing  can 
be  more  clear,  from  these  and  numerous  other  instances, 
than  that  the  things  offered  in  sacrifice,  and  burnt  upon 
the  altar,  were  considered  as  constituting  a  feast — were 
presented  as  upon  a  table  for  the  Lord  to  eat ;  which  He 
was  considered  to  do  when  they  were  consumed  by  fire. 
This  is  the  reason  why  it  is  so  often  said  in  Leviticus,  that 
they  were  to  be  burnt  'for  a  sweet-smelling  savour  to  the 
Lord.'  They  are  expressly  called  the  Lord's  bread,  and 


176  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

His  meat.  Can  that,  then,  which  He  is  considered  to 
accept  as  food,  be  the  punishment  and  torment  of  sin- 
ners? 

"  What  then  are  the  viands  of  which  the  Lord  can  par- 
take in  reality  ?  When  any  allusion  is  made-  in  Scripture 
to  His  hunger,  it  means,  His  intense  desire  that  His  good- 
ness and  love  should  be  received  by  mankind.  On  the 
occasion  of  His  temptation  in  the  wilderness  it  is  said, 
that '  when  He  had  fasted  forty  days  He  was  afterwards 
a  hungered;9  where  His  fasting  refers  to  the  depraved 
state  of  mankind,  and  of  the  church  in  its  entire  desola- 
tion, and  His  hungering,  to  His  intense  desire  for  man's 
•salvation.  The  hunger  of  the  Lord  then  is  satisfied,  when 
His  love  and  goodness  are  received  by  mankind;  and  this 
is  done,  when  man  receives  affections  of  goodness  and 
truth,  or  spiritual  graces,  from  Him,  and  returns  them  to 
Him  in  sincere  adoration,  with  the  heartfelt  acknowledg- 
ment that  they  are  from  Him  alone. 

"  Here  fchen  we  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  purport  of  the 
sacrifices  in  use  in  the  representative  or  Israelitish  Church, 
and  also  amoLg  the  Gentile  nations — an  idea  which  ex- 
plains the  whole  system,  and  banishes  obscurity  from 
every  part ;  whereas,  on  the  supposition  that  they  repre- 
sent the  punishment  due  to  sinners,  and  transferred 
from  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  find  ourselves 
stumbling  amid  difficulties  and  inconsistencies  at  every 
step. 

"  But  it  may  perhaps  be  thought  that  this  view  of  the 
subject  excludes  all  reference  of  the  sacrifices  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  The  direct  contrary,  however,  is  the  fact. 
All  the  Mosaic  law  of  sacrifices  was  fulfilled  in,  and  by, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  a  super-eminent  manner,  and 
thus  in  its  highest  sense,  it  has  reference  to  Him ;  it  is 
only  in  a  subordinate  sense,  and  as  we  are  followers  of 
Him,  that  it  has  a  spiritual  fulfillment  in  us.  We,  in  our 
subordinate,  degree,  as  walking  after  Him,  are  to  be  sacri- 
fices too;  but  He  is  the  great  sacrifice  of  all. 


SACRIFICIAL   WORSHIP.  177 

"When  man  continually  receives  from  the  Lord  the 
graces  of  which  He  is  the  author,  and  ascribes  all  to  Him, 
in  the  manner  represented  by  the  sacrificial  worship  of 
the  Mosaic  law;  when  every  affection  and  perception  of 
his  heart  and  mind,  of  which  the  various  kinds  of  sacri- 
fices were  representative,  or  himself  in  regard  to  such 
affections  and  perceptions,  is  thus  continually  hallowed  to 
the  Lord ;  it  follows,  that  his  entire  sanctification  will  at 
length  be  completed,  when  the  whole  man  will  thus  be 
devoutly  consecrated  to  his  God.  This  is  the  state  which 
the  Apostle  exhorts  us  to  attain,  when  he  says,  '  I  beseech 
you,  brethren,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacri-  • 
fice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God ;  which  is  your  reasonable 
service'  (Eom.  xii.  1).  The  Apostle  calls  this  our  reason- 
able service  in  allusion  to  the  carnal  service  of  the  Leviti- 
cal  law;  meaning,  that  he  who  thus  presents  himself  a 
living  sacrifice  truly  performs  that  of  which  the  animal 
sacrifices  were  types.  Such  a  living  sacrifice  is  a  man 
wholly  devoted  to  the  Lord,  who  is  wholly  renewed  by  the 
reception  of  new  principles  of  love,  thought,  and  action, 
from  Him ;  whose  selfish  life  is  extinct,  whilst  he  lives  by 
a  new  life,  which  is  life  indeed." 

We  are  now  enabled  to  see  the  truth  of  our  second  prop- 
osition :  that  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  did  not  consist 
in  His  suffering  the  punishment  due  to  sin — for  if,  as  we 
have  seen,  nothing  relating  to  punishment  is  included  in 
the  Scripture  idea  of  sacrifices,  nothing  of  this  could  be 
included  in  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Lord  came 
into  the  world  to  save  men  from  sin,  and  not  from  the  pen- 
alty of  sin,  for  the  evil-doer  shall  not  go  unpunished — only 
as  he  ceases  from  sin — sin  is  the  cause ;  suffering,  the  effect. 

"All  things,"  says  a  great  authority,  "are  of  God,  who 
hath  reconciled  us  to  Himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath 
committed  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation;  to  wit, 
that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him- 
self, not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them  "  (2  Cor.  v. 
18,  19.) 


178  SKEPTICISM   AND  DIVINE  EEVELATION. 

"  The  Apostle  here  delivers,  in  one  single  sentence,  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  Atonement;  and  to  call  attention 
to  it  he  propounds  it  in  the  most  express  and  formal  man- 
ner. *  God  hath  reconciled  us  to  Himself  ~by  Jesus  Christ :' 
and  the  ministry  of  this  reconciliation,  committed  to  the 
Apostles,  was,  to  declare  this  truth  :  'to  wit,  that  God  was 
in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,  not  imputing 
their  trespasses  unto  them.'  The  word  here  translated 
reconciliation,  is  the  same  as  is  elsewhere  rendered  atone- 
ment :  it  cannot  then  be  denied,  that  the  Atonement  of 
Scripture  is  nothing  else  but  our  reconciliation  with  God, 
effected  by  the  dwelling  of  God  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  That  the  Lord  is  called  a  Mediator  in  respect  to  His 
Humanity,  because  in  this  He  has  opened  a  new  and  living 
way  of  access  to  His  Divinity,  must  now,  one  would  appre- 
hend, be  so  evident,  that  it  is  needless  to  employ  many 
words  in  its  proof. 

"The  Apostle  says  of  Jesus,  that  'He  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us'  (Heb.  vii.  25).  But  by  inter- 
ceding he  does  not  here  mean  soliciting  or  entreating,  as  a 
supplicant  to  a  sovereign ;  nor  is  there  anything  in  the 
context  to  sanction  such  a  gross,  external  idea ;  but  acting 
as  a  medium,  or  as  that  ivhich  goes  between,  which  is  the 
strict  literal  meaning  of  the  word  to  intercede.  Such  in- 
tercession is  the  proper  office  of  the  Divine  Humanity,  for 
this  receives  into  Itself  the  unmitigated  fulness  of  the  Di- 
vine Essence,  and  dispenses  it  to  man  in  a  form  adapted  to 
his  capacities  of  receiving  it;  just  as  a  man's  body  receives 
into  itself  the  whole  of  the  powers  of  his  soul,  and  dis- 
penses its  energies,  in  the  manner  adapted  to  make  them 
efficient,  on  persons  and  things  around  it.  How  exactly 
does  the  Lord  Himself  describe  His  action  in  this  inter- 
ceding or  mediatorial  character,  when  He  says,  respecting 
the  Comforter  or  Holy  Spirit, — 'whom  /  will  send  unto 
you  from  the  Father'  (John  xv.  26);  teaching,  that  the 
Divine  Essence  is  the  origin  of  the  Divine  Influencing 
Power,  but  that  the  Divine  Humanity  in  which  it  abides 


SACRIFICIAL   WORSHIP.  179 

in  all  its  infinite  fulness,  is  the  Medium  of  dispensing  its 
agency  on  mankind. 

"  Now,  how  precisely  is  the  true  doctrine  on  this  subject 
expressed  by  the  Apostle  Paul !  '  There  is  one  God,'  says 
he,  'and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus/  He  expressly  affirms,  that  it  is  the  Man 
Christ  Jesus  who  is  the  Mediator.  But  Jesus  is  generally 
allowed  to  be  God  as  well  as  man;  yet  the  Apostle  takes 
care  to  guard  us  from  supposing  that  His  Divinity  medi- 
ates between  us  and  some  other  Divinity,  by  thus  expressly 
restricting  the  office  of  mediation  to  His  Humanity;  hence, 
also,  he  never  uses  the  title,  '  the  Man  Christ  Jesus/  on 
any  other  occasion  whatsoever.  How  plainly  does  this  in- 
struct us,  that  the  Human  Nature  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  only  Medium  by  which  we  can  have  access  to  His 
Divine  Essence ;  and  that  His  Divine  Essence  is  not  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  the  Father,  but  is  the  Father  Himself! 
His  essential  Divine  Nature  is  what  the  Apostle  calls  God, 
and  which  he  declares  to  be  One;  His  glorified  Human 
Nature  is  what  he  calls  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  and  which 
he  also  declares  to  be  one,  to  intimate  that  the  Human 
Nature  in  Him  is  essentially  different  from  what  it  is  in 
all  other  beings,  and  is  as  His  Divine,  being  the  adequate 
organ  of  conveying  to  man  the  divine  communications. 

"The  Lord  when  on  earth  said,  'I  say  not  unto  you, 
that  I  ivill  pray  the  Father  for  you :  for  the  Father  Him- 
self loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  Me,  and  have  be- 
lieved that  I  came  out  from  God.'  Thus,  instead  of  en- 
gaging to  make  prayer  and  supplication  to  the  Father  in 
behalf  of  those  who  believe  in  Him,  He  expressly  assures 
them  that  He  will  not  do  so.  Rightly  to  believe  in  Him, 
also,  is,  He  declares,  to  believe  that  He  came  out  from  God; 
which  means,  to  believe  that  His  Humanity  is  an  imme- 
diate evolution  from  His  Divine  Essence. 

"Hence  again  we  see  that  the  Lord's  Humanity  is  the 
Medium  by  which  we  gain  access  to  His  Divinity,  and  are 
brought  into  communication  with  it,  just  as  by  the  medium 


180  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

of  a  man's  body  we  gain  access  to,  and  have  communica- 
tion with  his  soul.  The  Lord  teaches  the  same  truth  in 
the  most  direct  form  when  He  says,  '  I  am  the  door :  by 
Me,  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in 
and  out  and  find  pasture'  (John  x.  9).  What  is  the  door 
but  the  medium  of  access?  And  that,  to  obtain  such 
access,  we  are  not  to  address  the  naked  Divinity  imme- 
diately, but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Divine  Person  of 
the  Father,  He  again  teaches  when  He  says,  '  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  He  that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the 
sheepfold,  but  climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a 
thief  and  a  robber9  (ver.  1). 

"Altogether  it  seems  abundantly  evident,  that  the  Me- 
diatorship  of  Jesus  Christ  does  not  consist  in  His  intro- 
ducing us,  by  entreaty  or  any  other  means,  to  the  favor  of 
a  God  out  of  and  separate  from  Himself;  but  in  His  having 
assumed  and  glorified  a  Humanity  to  afford  a  Medium  of! 
access  to  the  Divinity  which  dwells  in  fulness  in  it.  Let 
us  then,  instead  of  thinking  to  climb  up  some  other  wa}T, 
enter  in  'by  a  new  and  living  way  which  He  hath  conse- 
crated for  us  through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  IL\s  flesh' 
(Heb.  x.  20) — that  Humanity,  which  He  has  deified  and! 
united  to  Deity  to  be  for  men  the  Medium  of  approach  to 
God!" 

XXVI. 

The  Cross. 

""VTOR  does  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross  owe  its  origin  to 
JL.  i    the  Christian  era,  but  is  as  ancient,  perhaps,  as  tho 
knowledge  of  immortality  of  which  it  is  the  symbol.    The 
Crux  ansata  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  ancient  relics  of  a  true 
religion,  and  is  found  among  the  sculptures  of  the  Egyp-j 
tians  of  the  most  remote  antiquity,  with  whom  it  denoted  j 
eternal  life.    Mr.  Gliddon,  in  one  of  his  lectures,  says  he 
'had  seen  in  a  remote  quarry  in  middle  Egypt,  a  figure ) 
designed  to  represent  the  Saviour,  drawn  as  if  appended,  \ 
not  to  a  Gross,  but  to  this  symbol  of  immortality.    The 


THE   CROSS.  181 

Cross  had  therefore  the  same  meaning  with  them  as  with 
us ;  it  was  the  type  of  the  life  everlasting  beyond  the  tomb.' 
In  the  destruction  of  the  temple  of  Serapis  (at  Alexandria) 
by  the  Christians,  the  Cross  was  found  in, many  parts  of 
the  building;  and  Sozomenes,  in  writing  the  history  of 
the  Church,  speaking  of  the  temple  of  Serapis,  says:  'It 
is  reported  that  when  this  temple  was  destroyed,  there 
appeared  some  of  those  characters  called  hieroglyphics, 
surrounding  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  in  engraven  stones  ;  and 
that  by  the  skillful  in  these  matters,  these  hieroglyphics 
were  held  to  have  signified  this  inscription :  '  THE  LIFE 
TO  COME/  Socrates  (the  historian)  makes  the  statement, 
and  says,  the  words  were  found  to  indicate,  '  SALYATIOJST 
AKD  LIFE  TO  COME/  The  two  principal  Pagodas  of  India 
(Benares  and  Mathura),  are  also  built  in  the  form  of 
Crosses.  In  China,  the  Cross  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
relics  of  their  worship,  and  in  one  of  the  sacred  books  of 
that  country,  has  lately  been  deciphered  from  their  enig- 
matical writings,  the  following  sentence :  '  La  croix  devant 
les  yeux  regie  le  coeur  des  bommes;'  or  Tlie  Cross  before 
the  eyes  governs  the  heart  of  man.  This  Cross,  says  Mr. 
Squier,  which  is  similar  to  the  sacred  Tau,  and  not  unlike 
the  Mexican  Tree  of  Life  (which  undoubtedly  is  its  origin), 
is  not  only  discovered  in  the  hands  of  Egyptian  and  Assy- 
rian Divinities  as  the  sign  of  life,  but  is  sometimes  depend- 
ant from  the  necks  of  their  deified  Serpents.  '  Pontiffs 
and  prelates  (says  Volney),  that  crucifix  of  which  you 
boast  the  mystery,  without  comprehending  it,  is  the  Cross 
of  Serapis,  traced  by  the  hands  of  Egyptian  priests  on  the 
plan  of  the  figurative  world,  which,  passing  through  the 
equinoxes  and  the  tropics,  became  the  emblem  of  future 
life  and  resurrection,  because  it  touched  the  gates  of  ivory 
and  horn,  through  which  the  soul  was  to  pass  on  its  way 
to  heaven.' — The  Two  Great  Bootes. 

66  But  the  Cross  did  not  then,  as  now,  mean  &  penal  cru- 
cifixion, nor  were  any  painful  ideas  ever  associated  with 
this  emblem ;  on  the  contrary,  all  its  associations  were 


182  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

joyful  and  pleasant.  Milman,  in  his  ( History  of  Chris- 
tianity/ says  the  Cross  was  the  symbol  of  Christianity,  or 
of  a  true  faith,  'many  centuries  before  the  Crucifix.  It 
was  rather  a  cheerful  and  consolatory,  than  a  depressing 
and  melancholy  sign;  it  was  adorned  with  flowers,  with 
crowns  and  precious  stones,  a  pledge  of  the  resurrection, 
rather  than  a  memorial  of  the  passion.  The  catacombs  of 
Eome,  faithful  to  their  general  character,  offer  no  instance 
of  a  crucifixion,  nor  does  any  allusion  to  such  a  subject  of 
art  occur  in  any  early  writers.  Cardinal  Bona  gives  the 
following  as  the  progress  of  the  gradual  change :  1st,  The 
simple  Cross ;  2d,  The  Cross,  with  the  Lamb  at  the  foot  of 
it;  3d,  Christ  clothed  on  the  Cross,  with  hands  uplifted  in 
prayer,  but  not  nailed  to  it;  4th,  Christ  fastened  to  the 
Cross,  with  four  nails,  still  living,  and  with  open  eyes.  He 
was  not  represented  as  dead,  till  the  tenth  or  eleventh 
century.  There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  bust  of 
the  Saviour  first  appeared  on  the  Cross,  and  afterwards  the 
whole  person.  The  head  was  at  first  erect,  with  some 
expression  of  Divinity;  by  degrees  it  drooped  with  the 
agony  of  pain,  the  face  was  wan  and  furrowed,  and  death, 
with  all  its  anguish,  was  imitated  by  the  utmost  power  of 
coarse  art ;  mere  corporeal  suffering  without  sublimity,  all 
that  was  painful  in  truth,  with  nothing  that  was  tender 
and  affecting.  This  change  took  place  among  monkish 
artists  of  the  lower  empire.  Those  of  the  order  of  St.  Basil 
introduced  it  into  the  West,  and  from  that  time  these 
painful  images,  with  those  of  martyrdom,  and  every  scene 
of  suffering  which  could  be  imagined  by  the  gloomy  fancy 
of  anchorites,  who  could  not  be  moved  by  less  violent 
excitement,  spread  throughout  Christendom/  Thus  it  is 
only  in  these  latter  days  that  the  true  meaning  of  the 
Cross  is  lost ;  its  pure  and  genuine  symbolism  was  coeval! 
with  the  revelation  to  man  of  the  joys  of  the  world  beyond  J 
the  grave." — Rev.  G.  Field. 

That  a  meaning  is  attached  to  the  cross  in  the  sacred  j 
Scriptures  very  different  from  the  literal  idea  at  present ; 


THE   CROSS.  183 

so  generally  entertained,  must  be  manifest  to  every  atten- 
tive reader.  Our  Saviour  says  not  unfrequently,  that  he 
who  would  be  His  disciple,  must  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  Him.  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ :  nevertheless, 
I  live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me,"  says  the 
Apostle. 

"The  cross,"  says  Swedenborg,  "signifies  temptations;" 
and  "  to  take  up  the  cross  is  to  fight  against  our  inclina- 
tions to  evil,  and  to  follow  the  Lord  is  to  acknowledge 
Him  to  be  God."  To  acknowledge  the  Lord  and  to  resist 
and  overcome  in  temptations  is  the  way  which  leads  to 
eternal  life,  of  which  the  cross  has  ever  been  emblematical. 
The  Lord,  by  the  passion  of  the  cross,  did  not  take  away 
sins,  but  He  bore  them.  "  The  Lord  Jesus,"  says  Eev. 
John  Hyde,  "speaking  of  the  law  upon  which  David  is  so 
eloquent,  declares  that,  '  I  am  not  come  to  destroy  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  but  to  fulfil'  (Matt.  v.  17).  Not  to 
fulfil  in  the  sense  of  abolishing,  but  in  the  sense  of  filling- 
full,  as  Johnson  defines  the  word,  '  to  fill  till  there  is  room 
for  no  more.'  The  Lord's  meaning  is  illustrated  in  the 
context.  The  law  against  murder  iaJilled-fuU  so  as  to  in- 
clude hatred  and  enmity.  The  law  against  adultery  is 
filled-full  so  as  to  embrace  all  sinful  desire  and  lust.  The 
law  is  not  only  applied  to  external  acts,  but  also  to  in- 
ternal wishes  and  thoughts ;  thus  showing  that  the  law 
has  a  spiritual  pertinence,  and  therefore  a  spiritual  signi- 
fication." 

Eternal  life  is  a  life  of  genuine  love  to  the  Lord  and  the 
neighbor,  and  it  is  only  by  taking  up  our  cross,  suffering, 
resisting,  and  overcoming  in  temptations,  and  following 
the  Lord  in  the  regeneration,  that  this  heavenly  state  can 
be  reached.  To  fall  in  temptations,  and  yield  to  our 
hereditary  or  acquired  inclinations  to  evil,  is  to  die  spirit- 
ually: and  when  we  come  to  a  state  in  which  we  are 
ruled  exclusively  by  that  which  is  false  and  evil,  as  we 
shall,  if  we  do  not  repent  and  follow  the  Lord,  then  all 
heavenly  life  will  have  perished  in  our  souls ;  for  we  will 


184  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

have  no  love  for  that  which  is  really  good  and  true — only 
selfishness. 

But  the  reader,  to  understand  fully  this  grand  doctrine 
of  the  cross  and  its  spiritual  signification,  must  read  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg,  for  it  is  impossible  in  a  few  words 
to  even  begin  to  do  justice  to  it.  If  we  shall  be  successful 
in  seriously  calling  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  vast 
treasures  of  spiritual  knowledge  revealed  by  the  Lord 
through  him  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  men  of  this  age, 
we  shall  have  accomplished  all  that  we  could  reasonably 
expect.  We  do  not  expect  in  this  short  treatise  to  answer 
satisfactorily  all  the  questions  of  the  honest  inquirer  after 
truth,  nor  to  silence  the  skeptical  scoffer;  but  the  earnest 
inquirer  will  be  abundantly,  and  more  than  satisfied,  if  he 
will  read  diligently  the  writings  of  the  Swedish  seer. 


XXVII. 


A  Tme  and  Heavenly  Life. 

THAT  a  man  should  lead  a  good  and  true  life,  repent, 
shun  evils  as  sins  against  God,  and  do  good  to  his 
fellow-man,  in  order  to  reach  happiness  and  heaven,  was 
not  unknown  to  the  ancients  long  before  the  days  of 
Moses;  nor  is  this  knowledge  confined  at  this  day  to 
Christian  nations,  but  is  to  be  found,  more  or  less  per- 
verted, among  all  nations  on  earth ;  having  descended 
either  by  tradition  or  in  a  written  form  from  the  ancient 
or  Church  of  Noah. 

The  following  precepts  were  among  the  accepted  teach- 
ings of  the  ancient  Druids : 

"  Believe  nothing  without  examination ;  but  when 
reason  and  evidence  will  warrant  the  conclusion,  believe 
everything;  and  let  prejudice  be  unknown.  Search  for 
truth  on  all  occasions,  and  espouse  it  in  opposition  to  the 
world." 

"Light  is  the  emblem  of  purity,  holiness  and  truth — 
the  emblem  of  the  source  of  all  good,  and  of  all  mental  (or 


A  TRUE  AND   HEAVENLY   LIFE.  185 

spiritual)  illumination.  Every  act  of  the  Bard  (or  the 
inspired  instructor  or  teacher  of  the  people)  must  be  done 
in  the  eye  of  the  light!9 

"  Pride  is  that  passion  by  which  a  person  assumes  more 
than  the  laws  of  nature  (the  laws  of  nature  are  the  laws 
of  God)  allow  him  ;  for  all  persons  are  equal,  though 
differently  stationed  in  the  state  of  humanity,  for  the 
common  good.  Whoever  assumes  such  a  superiority  is  an 
usurper,  and  he  attaches  himself  thereby  to  evil  to  such  a 
degree  that  his  soul  falls  at  death  into  the  lowest  point  of 
existence/' 

"One  infallible  rule  of  duty  is,  not  to  do  anything,  or 
desire  to  do  it,  but  what  can  eternally  be  done,  and  ob- 
tained in  the  celestial  state  where  no  evil  can  exist.  The 
good  and  happiness  of  one  being  must  not  arise  from  the 
evil  or  misery  of  another." 

In  Johnson's  ^Eambler"  is  given  the  following  trans- 
lation of  a  prayer  of  the  pagan  Simplicius,  which  is  full 
of  fervent  arid  genuine  piety : 

"  O  Thou,  whose  pow'r  o'er  moving  worlds  presides, 
Whose  voice  created,  and  whose  wisdom  guides ! 
On  darkling  man  in  pure  effulgence  shine, 
And  cheer  the  clouded  mind  with  light  Divine. 
'Tis  Thine  alone  to  calm  the  pious  breast, 
With  silent  confidence  and  holy  rest ; 
From  Thee,  great  Jove,  we  spring,  to  Thee  we  tend, 
Path,  motive,  guide,  Original,  and  end." 

Plato,  Pythagoras,  and  other  "ancient  heathens,"  breathe 
the  same  spirit,  and  look  to  the  same  Infinite  and  eternal 
One,  who  is  thus  addressed  on  behalf  of  the  sinner: 
"  Great  Jove  !  Father  of  man !  0  free  them  from  those 
evils,  or  discover  to  them  the  demon  they  employ  !"  And, 
addressing  man  :  "  Consider  all  things  well,  governing 
thyself  by  reason,  and  setting  it  in  the  uppermost  place. 
And  when  thou  art  divested  of  thy  mortal  body,  and 
arrived  in  the  most  pure  ether,  thou  shalt  be  exalted 
among  the  immortal  gods  (angels),  be  incorruptible  and 


186  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

never  more  know  death."  The  Prayer  of  Pythagoras,  as 
thus  versified  by  Mr.  Adams,  is  also  full  of  vital  and 
practical  religion : 

"  Let  not  soft  slumber  close  thine  eyes, 
Before  thou  recollectest  thrice 
The  train  of  actions  through  the  day  : 
Where  have  my  feet  found  out  their  way  ? 
What  have  I  learned  where'er  I've  been, 
From  all  I've  heard,  from  all  I've  seen  ? 
What  know  I  more  that's  worth  the  knowing  ? 
What  have  I  done  that's  worth  the  doing  ? 
What  have  I  sought  that  I  should  shun  ? 
What  duty  have  I  left  undone  ? 
Or,  into  what  new  follies  run  ? 
These  self  enquiries  are  the  road 
That  leads  to  virtue,  and  to  God." 

"  Indeed,"  says  the  Rev.  George  Field,  "  it  is  abundantly 
evident  that,  both  as  to  faith  and  life,  there  never  has  been 
but  one  religion,  however  much  it  may  have  been  per- 
verted, lost,  or  prostituted  to  improper  purposes,  for  that 
4  which  is  now  called  the  Christian  religion  (says  St. 
Augustine)  really  was  known  to  the  ancients,  nor  was 
wanting  at  any  time  from  the  beginning  of  the  human 
race,  until  the  time  when  Christ  came  into  the  flesh; 
from  whence  the  true  religion,  which  had  previously 
existed,  began  to  be  called  Christian  ;  and  this  in  our  days 
is  the  Christian  religion,  not  as  having  been  wanting  in 
former  times,  but  as  having  in  latter  times  received  this 
name."  '* 

In  the  revelations  made  by  the  Lord  through  Emanuel 
Swedenborg,  on  the  "  Doctrine  of  Life  for  the  New  Jeru- 
salem," we  read :  "  That  all  religion  has  relation  to  life, 
and  that  the  life  of  religion  is  to  do  good.  Every  one, 
who  has  any  religion,  knows  and  acknowledges,  that  who- 
soever lives  well  will  be  saved,  and  that  whosoever  lives 
wickedly  will  be  condemned ;  for  he  knows  and  acknowl- 
edges, that  whosoever  lives  well,  thinks  well,  not  only 
concerning  God,  but  also  concerning  his  neighbor,  whereas 


A  TRUE   AND    HEAVENLY  LIFE.  187 

it  is  otherwise  with  him  who  lives  wickedly.  The  life  of 
man  is  his  love,  and  what  a  man  loves,  he  not  only  does 
willingly,  but  also  thinks  willingly." 

This  accords  strictly  with  the  Lord's  teaching  when  on 
earth.  "  If  any  man  will  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God/'  The  Psalmist  declares 
that  "a  good  understanding  have  all  they  that  do  His 
commandments." 

The  more  earnestly,  then,  we  strive  to  ultimate  in 
external  life  the  truth  we  already  have,  the  more  clearly 
shall  we  be  able  to  see  the  truth.  Man  is  not  saved  by 
faith  or  truth  alone  for  it  becomes  no  part  of  him — it  does 
not  enter  his  life  until  he  strives  to  live  in  accordance 
with  it,  and  thus  unites  it  with  goodness.  The  Lord's 
commandments  are  simply  Laws  of  Spiritual  Life,  which 
we  must  earnestly  strive  to  keep,  if  we  would  enter  into 
eternal  life — or  a  life  of  love  to  the  Lord  and  neighbor, 
which  alone  is  genuine  life,  or  heavenly  life.  How  clearly 
and  beautifully  the  Lord  teaches  this  great  doctrine  of 
Life.  "If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments."  "If 
thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments." 

The  Lord  when  on  earth  declared  that  He  came  "not 

to  destroy  the  Law  but  to  fulfil ;"  and  we  must  strive  to 

follow  His  blessed  example,  not  only  as  to  external  acts, 

but  also  as  to  the   thoughts  of  the   understanding  and 

aifections  of  the  will.     St.  Paul  declares  truly  that  "by 

;  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."    While  it  is 

quite  evident  that  he  referred  more  especially  to  the  cere- 

i  monial  laws  of  the  Jewish  Church,  and  not  to  the  Ten 

,  Commandments,  still  there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is  true, 

i  that  by  the  works  of  the  law  man  is  not  justified ;  for 

good  external  acts  done  from  purely  selfish  motives,  such 

j  a&  love  of  money,  power,  or  glory,  have  not  heavenly  life 

within  them ;  and  when  the  evils  we  are  commanded  by 

the  Lord  not  to  do,  are  shunned  simply  through  worldly 

fear,  or  from   selfish   motives,  and  not  shunned  because 

they  are  sins  against  God,  or  a  violation  of  His  laws,  and 


188  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

will  affect  our  spiritual  well-being  in  this  world  and  the 
next,  our  motives  or  hearts  are  not  changed.  Faith  in 
the  Lord  is  essential,  but  faith  without  works,  says  St. 
James,  is  dead,  being  alone.  "  But  wilt  thou  know,  0 
vain  man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead?"  "Seest 
thou  how  faith  wrought  with  his  works,  and  by  works  was 
faith  made  perfect?"  "Ye  see  then  how  that  by  works  a 
man  is  justitied,  and  not  by  faith  only?"  "For  as  the 
body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  wrorks  is 
dead  also." 

In  the  New  Jerusalem  now  descending  out  of  Heaven, 
faith  and  charity  will  be  reunited;  for,  in  its  teachings, 
the  Lord's  dealings  with  His  children  have  again  been 
clearly  revealed,  not  for  the  first  or  second  time,  but  as 
distinctly  as  they  were  to  Jeremiah,  Isaiah,  Ezekiel  and 
the  Jewish  people  of  old,  and  the  disciples  of  our  Lord 
when  He  was  on  earth.  Whenever  faith,  or  Cain,  destroys 
charity,  or  Abel,  in  the  Lord's  church  on  earth,  the 
church  has  reached  its  end,  for  the  Word  of  the  Lord  is 
rendered  of  none  effect  by  the  doctrines  and  traditions  of 
men,  and  nothing  but  a  new  revelation  of  Divine  truth 
can  rescue  our  race  from  destruction — or  preserve  heavenly 
life  on  earth.  The  Lord  provides  that  a  remnant  shall  be 
left  in  the  expiring  church  who  are  ready  to  hearken  anew 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord  in  its  integrity. 

When,  at  the  command  of  the  Lord,  Jeremiah  went 
down  to  the  potter's  house,  how  clear  was  the  message : 
"0  house  of  Israel,  cannot  I  do  with  you  as  this  potter? 
saith  the  Lord.  Behold,  as  the  clay  is  in  the  potter's 
hand,  so  are  ye  in  mine  hand,  0  house  of  Israel.  At  what 
instant  I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning 
a  kingdom,  to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy 
it;  if  that  nation,  against  whom  I  have  pronounced,  turn 
from  their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to 
do  unto  them.  And  at  what  instant  I  shall  speak  con- 
cerning a  nation,  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to  build  and 
to  plant  it ;  if  it  do  evil  in  my  sight,  that  it  obey  not  my 


A  TKUB   A2*D   HEAVEKLY  LIFE.  189 

voice,  then  I  will  repent  of  the  good,  wherewith  I  said  I 
would  benefit  them"  (Jer.  xviii.). 

And  so  in  Ezekiel,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die. 
The  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  neither 
shall  the  father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son ;  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him,  and  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him.  But  if  the  wicked 
will  turn  from  all  his  sins  that  he  hath  committed,  and 
keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not  die.  All  his  trans- 
gressions that  he  hath  committed,  they  shall  not  be  men- 
tioned unto  him :  in  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done 
he  shall  live.  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked 
should  die  ?  saith  the  Lord  God :  and  not  that  he  should 
return  from  his  ways  and  live?  But  when  the  righteous 
turneth  away  from  his  righteousness,  and  committeth  in- 
iquity, and  doeth  according  to  all  the  abominations  that 
the  wicked  man  doeth,  shall  he  live  ?  All  his  righteous- 
ness that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  mentioned:  in  his 
trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in  his  sin  that  he 
hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die"  (Ezek.  xviii.). 

But  in  the  same  chapter,  after  declaring  that  He  will 
judge  every  one  according  to  his  ways,  the  Lord  calls  most 
affectionately  and  earnestly  upon  all  sinners  to  repent 
and  turn  from  all  their  transgressions;  so  that  iniquity 
shall  not  be  their  ruin.  In  great  mercy  He  exclaims: 
"Cast  away  from  you  all  your  transgressions,  whereby  ye 
have  transgressed ;  and  make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new 
spirit;  for  why  will  ye  die,  0  house  of  Israel  ?  For  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  saith  the 
Lord  God :  wherefore  turn  yourselves,  and  live  ye ; "  and 
this  call  is  to  every  sinner — to  even  the  worst — it  is  the 
call  of  Divine  love. 

How  plain,  how  simple  is  the  Bible  scheme  of  salvation ! 
No  unwillingness  on  our  Heavenly  Father's  part  to  forgive 
and  receive  the  returning  sinner.  He  even  beholds  him 
when  afar  off;  yes,  and  stands  at  tke  door  of  his  heart,  aud 


190  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

knocks,  and  cries  unto  him,  "Seek,  and  ye  shall  find; 
knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  There  is  no 
intimation  of  either  any  vicarious  punishment  or  a  substi- 
tute being  required.  Our  heavenly  Father,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ— or  God  in  Christ — is  to-day  reconciling  the 
world  unto  Himself,  and  does  not  require  being  recon- 
ciled unto  the  sinner,  for  He  is  more  ready  to  forgive  the 
repentant  sinner  than  any  earthly  parent  is  to  forgive  his 
erring  but  repentant  child;  so  He  has  assured  us.  The 
way  of  Life,  as  unveiled  by  Divine  Revelation,  although 
straight  and  narrow,  is  so  plain  that  the  wayfaring  man, 
though  a  fool,  need  not  err  therein.  The  sinner  has  but 
to  turn  his  course  and  stop  sinning,  or  violating  the 
Divine  commands,  in  the  acts  of  his  every-day  life ;  and 
by  thus  seeking  the  Lord  he  opens  his  understanding  and 
heart  to  the  Divine  Truth  and  love;  and  he  will  find 
strength  gradually  to  banish  evil  thoughts  and  inclina- 
tions, and  thus  to  become  a  new  creature — "  a  man  " — 
"an  angel."  Man  has  simply  to  open  the v door  of  his 
spirit,  and  co-operate  with  the  Lord  by  striving  to  do  as 
He  requires,  and  the  Lord  will  create  in  him  a  new  heart, 
and  renew  in  him  a  right  spirit. 

Regeneration  is  not  the  work  of  a  day,  and  of  course  is 
not  instantaneous  ;  in  fact,  as  we  have  seen  in  considering 
the  first  chapters  of  Genesis,  it  is  the  work  of  a  Lifetime, 
and  at  this  day  is  rarely  completed  in  this  world.  The 
Lord  likens  it  to  a  birth,  and  says  we  must  be  born  again. 
When  we  repent  and  acknowledge  the  Lord,  and,  looking 
to  Him,  sincerely  resolve  to  stop  sinning,  and  set  about  it, 
then  is  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  in  us— a  bare  begin- 
ning, and  day  by  day,  as  we  strive  to  shun  evils  and  do 
right,  is  the  new  resolve  or  will  strengthened ;  but  many  a 
day  of  conflict  is  before  us — yes,  many  a  year  before  the 
old  man  is  put  off,  and  the  new  man  put  on,  and  we  reach 
the  stature  of  a  renewed  man.  All  heavenly  life  is  from 
the  Lord,  and  if  we  live  according  to  the  laws  of  such  life 
— the  Commandments — spiritual  health  and  heavenly  life, 


A  TRUE   AND   HEAVENLY   LIFE.  191 

which  is  real  life,  will  as  surely  flow  in,  as  natural  life  and 
health  will,  when  we  live  according  to  natural  laws.  Cause 
and  effect  are  as  operative  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other  ; 
—  God  is  the  bountiful  giver  in  both  cases,  man  is  simply 
a  recipient,  he  has  no  life  of  himself;  without  Divine  aid 
he  can  do  nothing,  but  he  has  only  to  ask  aright  to  receive 
the  aid  he  needs. 

When  the  young  man  declared  that  "  all  these  have  I 
observed  from  my  youth,  then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  One  thing  thou  lackest  :  go  thy 
way,  sell  whatsoever  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  ;  and  come,  take  up  the 
cross,  and  follow  me."  By  this,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  is 
understood  that  he  should  reject  the  falses  which  were  the 
doctrine  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  receive  the  doctrine  of 
truth  from  the  Lord  ;  and  that  he  was  to  undergo  conflicts 
and  temptations  from  falses,  signified  by  taking  up  the 
cross  and  following  the  Lord,  without  which  there  could 
be  no  salvation.  It  is  not  enough  to  keep  the  command- 
ments from  selfish  motives,  but  we  must  acknowledge  the 
Lord  in  all  things. 

Turn  we  now  to  the  last  and  closing  chapter  of  the 
Divine  Word,  and  we  find  the  following  sublime  language  : 
"  Behold  I  come  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to 
give  every  man  according  .as  his  work  shall  be.  I  am 
Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  first 
and  the  last.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  command- 
ments, that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and 
may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city."  Amen. 
Even  so  come  Lord  Jesus,  into  every  understanding  and 
every  heart. 

XXVIII. 

The  End  of  the  World  and  the  Second  Coming 
of  the  Lord. 


"A  "^^ 
-LJL  c 


as  ^e  sa^  uPon  tne  Mount  of  Olives,  the  disciples 
came  unto  Him  privately,  saying,  Tell  us,  when 


192  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

shall  these  things  be  ?  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  Thy 
coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world?"  (Matt.  xxiv.  3.) 

"The  'End  of  the  World/"  says  the  Eev.  Wm.  B. 
Hayden,  from  whose  excellent  work  for  new  readers, 
"Light  on  Last  Things,"  we  have  selected  a  large  portion 
of  the  contents  of  this  section,  "is  a  subject  which  has 
attracted  considerable  attention.  That  such  an  event  is 
to  take  place  has  long  been  a  doctrine  in  the  Christian 
world.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  habitable  globe  will 
be  destroyed,  the  ground  or  earth  be  consumed  by  fire,  the 
stars  fall  from  the  visible  heavens  overhead,  the  heavens 
themselves  being  rolled  together  like  a  scroll,  be  swept 
from  existence,  the  history  of  nations  cease,  and  the  birth 
or  propagation  of  mankind  come  to  an  end. 

"  These  views  have  been  drawn  from  the  sacred  Scrip- 
ture. Two  classes  of  passages  in  the  Bible  have  been 
supposed  to  teach  or  imply  them,  viz. :  first,  those  in 
which,  as  in  the  above,  the  end  of  the  world  is  distinctly 
spoken  of,  and  secondly,  those  others  in  which  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  are  spoken  of  as  falling  from  their  places 
or  being  darkened,  the  sea  being  no  more,  and  the  earth 
as  being  destroyed,  or  purified,  or  burned  up  by  fire. 

"We  believe,  according  to  the  repeated  declarations 
made  by  the  Lord  in  the  volume  of  His  Word,  that  He 
hath  created  the  earth  and  established  it  that  it  may  abide 
forever;  that  He  hath  given  it  fixed  foundations  that  it 
cannot  be  moved;  that  He  made  it  to  be  inhabited,  and 
that  He  hath  given  it  as  a  permanent  possession  to  the 
children  of  men.  *  One  generation  passeth  away  and  an- 
other cometh,  but  the  earth  abideth  for  ever.' 

"  We  are  told  by  Swedenborg  that  the  object  which  our 
heavenly  Father  has  in  view  is  the  formation  of  a  heaven 
out  of  the  human  race,  which  may  go  on  increasing  in 
purity,  in  happiness,  and  in  numbers  to  eternity.  The 
earth,  therefore,  is  required  as  a  seminary  for  heaven — as 
a  place  for  the  birth  and  education  of  the  human  race— as 
a  place  from  which  the  population  of  heaven  may  be 


THE  LORD'S    SECOND   COMIKG.  193 

continually  increased  by  the  emigration  of  good  people 
from  this  world  to  the  other  through  the  process  of 
natural  death. 

"  Hence  we  believe  that  the  earth  will  endure ;  that  men 
will  not  cease  to  be  born  and  grow  up  on  this  planet.  No 
outward  change  will  corne  to  break  up  the  onward  flow  of 
human  history.  The  nations  will  go  on  and  develop  as 
heretofore.  The  stars  will  move  on  in  their  courses,  and 
all  the  visible  heavens  remain  as  they  are.  The  solid 
framework  of  the  globe  will  abide.  Its  surface  will  remain 
undisturbed,  save  as  it  may  be  gradually  altered  "by  the 
operation  of  certain  geological  forces  which  are  con- 
stantly at  work.  The  population  of  the  globe  will  increase, 
and  one  who  should  revisit  this  earth  a  thousand  years 
from  now — a  hundred  thousand  years  from  now — will 
find  it  much  as  it  is  at  present  in  its  essential  features; 
only  more  populous,  civilization  more  advanced,  and  more 
widely  extended,  the  Gospel  more  diffused,  more  unity  of 
sentiment  on  the  great  themes  of  religion,  and  men  on 
the  whole,  at  the  end  of  each  great  cycle,  possessed  of 
more  wisdom  and  endowed  with  greater  degrees  of  good- 
ness, morality,  and  social  order. 

"It  will  naturally  be  asked,  then,  How  do  we  dispose  of 
the  two  classes  of  passages  in  Scripture  commonly  under- 
stood to  predict  the  destruction  of  the  world  ?  And  to 
this  question  we  will  endeavor  briefly  to  reply. 

"  1.  When  we  lay  aside  our  common  translation  of  the 
Bible  and  turn  to  the  Greek  Testament,  we  do  not  find 
the  'end  of  the  world'  foretold  at  all.  There  is  no  such 
expression  there.  N  or  is  there  any  phrase  or  expression 
that  answers  to  it. 

"  There  is  in  the  Greek  a  common  and  familiar  word  to 
express  our  idea  of  the  visible  world.  And  that  word  is 
Kosmos.  It  is  peculiarly  and  distinctively  fitted  to  trans- 
late it,  standing  in  the  Greek  mind  for  just  the  idea  that 
our  common  word  world  does  in  the  English  mind ;  mean- 
ing sometimes  visible  nature,  and  sometimes  also  the  men 
9 


4  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

inhabiting  visible  nature.  Now  this  word  was  familiar  to 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  in  just  this  sense,  and 
they  constantly  employed  it  in  this  sense.  Whenever  they 
desired  to  speak  of  the  world  of  nature,  or  of  the  world  of 
men  inhabiting  nature,  they  used  the  term  Kosmos.  It 
occurs  no  less  than  a  hundred  and  ninety -one  times  in  this 
sense  in  the  New  Testament,  and  is  always  so  translated 
in  our  common  version.  We  see,  therefore,  what  they  said 
when  they  wanted  to  say  world  ;  they  said  Kosmos.  -  • 

"  Now  this  phrase  which  we  are  here  considering,  '  end 
of  the  world/  occurs  seven  times  in  our  copies  of  the  New 
Testament ;  five  times  in  Matthew,  and  twice  in  the  Epis- 
tles of  Paul.  But  in  these  seven  cases  the  word  Kosmos 
is  not  used.  It  is  never  said  that  the  Kosmos  is  going  to 
come  to  an  end,  but  another  term  is  employed.  The  word 
Alon  is  introduced  to  denote  that  which  closes  up  or  comes 
to  an  end.  It  is  always  the  end  of  the  Alon  that  is  fore- 
told, and  of  the  Alon  only.  Now  this  is  a  term  which 
relates  to  time,  expressing  the  idea  of  duration  or  length. 
It  answers  very  nearly  to  our  word  age;  and  means  the 
period  or  cycle  through  which  anything  lasts.  This  will 
be  found  by  consulting  the  common  lexicons  of  New 
Testament  Greek.  Different  things  have  their  aion  or  age, 
the  period  through  which  they  endure.  Thus  the  age  of 
man  is  said  to  be  seventy  years ;  a  tree  has  its  age ;  an 
empire  has  its  aion  or  period  of  endurance.  And  so  there 
are  great  aions  or  ages,  or  periods  in  the  Church,  under 
successive  Divine  dispensations,  and  the  aion  or  age  is  the 
time  during  which  a  dispensation  lasts.  Thus  the  period 
from  Adam  to  Noah  constituted  one  of  these  ages  or 
Divine  dispensations,  which  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the 
flood.  The  Jewish  aion,  age,  or  dispensation,  commencing 
from  the  call  of  Abraham,  or  from  Moses,  was  finished  or 
came  to  an  end  when  our  Lord  appeared  in  the  world. 

"In  two  of  these  seven  instances  where  this  phrase  is 
used  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  applied  to  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation, viz. :  1  Cor.  x.  11,  and  Heb.  ix.  26.  The  Apos- 


THE   LORD'S   SECOND   COMIKG.  195 

tie  refers  to  the  termination  of  the  Jewish  age,  the  Jewish 
order  of  things  in  the  Church,  saying  in  one  place,  'Now 
all  these  things  happened  unto  them  for  examples :  and 
they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends 
of  the  world  are  come.'  Here  we  see  that  the  Apostle 
declares  himself  and  brethren  to  be  living  at  the  time  of 
the  end  of  the  world,  if  we  accept  the  common  translation. 
But  he  did  not  mean  to  say  that.  He  says  that  they  are 
living  at  the  end  of  an  alon  or  a  series  of  aldns,  meaning 
thereby  the  end  of  the  Jewish  age  or  dispensation,  and  of 
those  which  had  preceded;  and  hence  Conybeare  and 
Howson  (clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  have 
given  us  the  best  translation  of  the  Epistles)  render  this 
passage,  '  Now  all  these  things  befell  them  as  shadows  of 
things  to  come ;  and  they  are  written  for  our  warning,  on 
whom  tfie  ends  of  the  ages  are  come.'  This  is  the  proper 
translation. 

"  So,  in  ttye  other  passage,  Heb.  ix.  26,  speaking  of  our 
Lord,  the  Apostle  says :  *  But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the 
world  hath  He  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself.' 

"  Now,  if  we  accept  the  common  translation,  the  end  of 
the  world  was  to  be  then,  at  the  first  coming  of  our  Lord. 
But  it  did  not  happen  then.  Nor  did  the  Apostle  mean 
to  say  that  it  would.  Conybeare  and  Howson  render  this 
passage,  '  But  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  ages  hath  He 
appeared,  to  do  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself.' 
This  is  the  correct  translation,  for  the  word  here  occurs 
in  the  plural,  as  in  the  other  passage  just  cited.  Dr. 
Robinson,  in  his  lexicon  of  the  New  Testament,  says  that 
the  Apostle  in  these  two  instances  undoubtedly  refers  to 
the  end  of  the  Jewish  dispensation ;  and  such  is  the  com- 
mon consent  of  scholars. 

In  Matthew,  in  the  five  instances  named,  the  word  occurs 
each  time  in  the  singular,  the  end  of  the  age,  and  is  used  by 
our  Lord  to  designate  the  time  when  the  last  judgment 
should  occur  in  the  world  of  the  departed,  the  first  Chris- 


196  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

tian  age  or  apostolical  dispensation  cease,  and  the  age  and 
dispensation  of  the  latter-day  church,  i.  e.  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, should  commence.  In  the  writings  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  this  phrase  is  translated  the  consummation  of 
the  age,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  closing  or  winding  up 
of  the  dispensation ;  a  rendering  which  is  now  everywhere 
concurred  in  hy  the  best  scholarship  of  the  time. 

"Thus,  it  will  be  perceived,  that,  in  accordance  with  our 
Lord's  words,  we  are  not  looking  for  the  destruction  of  the 
world,  nor  for  violent  commotions  in  visible,  material 
nature,  but  for  important  changes,  and  the  commencement 
of  a  new  order  of  things  with  respect  to  the  church,  both 
in  the  spiritual  world  and  in  the  natural  world ;  or  in  thq 
world  of  spirits  and  in  the  world  of  men ;  a  new  age  already 
commenced,  and  now  progressing." 

The  material  universe  and  all  things  in  it  having  been 
created  by  the  Lord,  every  natural  thing  and  object  cor. 
responds,  as  we. have  seen,  to  spiritual  things.  We  read  in 
the  holy  Word  that  "the  Lord  God  is  a  Sun/'  and  Swe< 
denborg  assures  us  tha,t  He  is  the  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world,  to  which  the  natural  sun  corresponds.  Thus^ 
according  to  the  science  of  correspondences,  the  material 
sun  corresponds  to  the  spiritual  sun,  or  the  Lord;  th« 
light  from  the  sun  corresponds  to  the  divine  truth,  for 
truth  is  spiritual  light;  the  heat  of  the  sun  corresponds  to 
the  divine  love,  for  love  is  spiritual  heat.  The  light  and 
heat  of  the  material  sun  illuminate  and  warm  the  body 
and  material  earth,  as  truth  and  love  from  the  Lord  do  the 
spirit  of  man  and  the  mental  earth. 

"Now,  in  the  church,  the  first  thing  is  charity,  or  more 
properly  perhaps,  love,  heavenly  love—love  to  God  and 
love  to  man.  This  is  the  central  principle.  And  when 
this  love  is  vigorous  and  active  and  alive  in  the  church, 
then  the  sun  shines,  for  the  Lord,  who  is  the  real  sun  of 
the  spiritual  universe,  sheds  down  the  light  of  His  counte- 
nance upon  us.  We  see  Him  as  He  is;  while  we  are 
warmed  and  vivified  by  the  rays  of  His  Spirit," 


THE   LORD'S   SECOND   COMING.  197 

The  eyes  correspond  to  the  understanding,  for  they 
receive  natural  light  as  the  latter  does  spiritual  light,  or 
truth.  The  heart  corresponds  to  the  will,  or  affections; 
for  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  it  serves  the  same  purpose  in 
the  material  body  that  the  will  does  in  the  spiritual  body. 
Paul  assures  us  that  "  there  is  a  spiritual  body,  and  there 
is  a  natural  body."  The  material,  being  but  the  clothing 
of  the  spiritual,  must  correspond  to  the  latter  in  every 
particular,  for  the  material  has  been  fashioned  and  moulded 
into  form  by  the  spiritual. 

The  natural  clouds  and  atmosphere  modify  and  adapt 
the  light  and  heat  of  the  natural  sun  to  man's  natural 
eyes;  they  therefore  correspond  to  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
or  the  literal  sense  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  which  modifies 
and  adapts  the  divine  truth  and  love,  or  spiritual  light  and 
heat,  to  man's  spiritual  vision.  The  clouds  in  which  the 
Lord  was  to  come,  then,  were  the  clouds  of  the  letter  of 
His  Holy  Word. 

"Now  the  Lord  makes  His  appearance  in  these  clouds, 
the  types  and  symbols  of  the  letter  of  His  Word,  as  soon  as 
the  heavenly  meaning  of  the  symbols  are  made  clear,  and 
they  all  are  seen  to  relate  to  Him.  In  the  revelation  of 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word,  which  is  everywhere  veiled 
in  its  letter,  every  type,  every  figure,  and  every  circum- 
stance, in  history  or  psalm  or  prophecy,  is  seen  to  relate  to 
the  Lord,  and  to  represent  His  work  for  and  within  human 
siuls.  And  it  is  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  purely 
divine  work  of  opening  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  revealing 
for  the  church  the  existence,  nature,  and  particular  truths 
of  their  spiritual  sense  that  the  Lord  comes  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven.  He  comes,  for  the  whole  Word  reveals  Him, 
and  His  work ;  He  comes  in  the  clouds  because  they  are 
the  images  of  the  letter  of  the  Word,  which,  being  inter- 
preted, reveal  Him.  This  is  known  because  it  is  an 
accomplished  fact;  and  the  event  has  explained  arid 
proved  the  Apocalypse," — Rev.  L,  P.  Mercer. 

The  sun  which  was  to  b©  darkened  at  His  coming  wai 


198  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   EEV2LATION. 

not  the  material  sun,  but  the  heavenly  sun,  or  the  Loid. 
When  darkness  prevails  in  the  world,  it  is  not  because  the 
sun  does  not  shine,  but  because  either  the  earth  turns 
from  the  sun,  or  some  opaque  object  intervenes  between 
the  sun  and  the  earth.  It  is  precisely  so  in  regard  to  the 
spiritual  sun  ;  for  the  Lord's  truth  and  love,  or  spiritual 
light  and  heat,  ever  flow  down  through  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures to  man ;  but  spiritual  darkness  is  caused  by  man's 
turning  from  the  Lord  and  His  Word  to  the  traditions  of 
men,  and  his  own  self-derived  intelligence,  and  coming  to 
love  himself,  power,  money,  and  sensual  gratifications 
more  than  he  loves  the  Lord  and  his  neighbor. 

"  Thus,  when  charity  wanes  or  dies  out,  or,  as  our  Lord 
expresses  it,  when  true  Christian  'love  waxes  cold/  then 
it  is  said  in  the  prophets  that  the  sun  goes  down  or  be- 
comes darkened;  because,  as  we  at  such  times  withdraw 
from  the  Lord,  hiding,  as  it  were,  our  faces  from  Him,  the 
light  of  His  countenance  fails  to  reach  us,  ceasing  thus  to 
shine  upon  and  influence  us." 

The  moon,  giving  but  a  reflected  light  with  compara- 
tively little  heat,  corresponds  to  faith ;  and  its  becoming 
as  blood,  denotes  that  true  faith  in  the  Lord  would  be 
destroyed. 

"  That  is,  when  there  is  an  eclipse  of  faith  in  the  church, 
when  there  is  doubt  and  obscurity,  and  only  a  half-way  be- 
lief in  the  higher  spiritual  truths  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
men  knowing  hardly  what  to  believe,  then  the  moon  is 
said  to  withdraw  her  shining,  or  to  be  turned  to  blood,  the 
appearance  presented  in  a  literal  eclipse." 

The  stars  of  heaven,  which  were  to  fall  to  the  earth, 
were  not  the  material  stars,  but  the  knowledges  of  good- 
ness and  truth,  or  spiritual  stars,  seen  and  revealed  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures  to  guide  our  footsteps  in  states  of  mental 
darkness  and  doubt,  and  to  which  our  Saviour  appealed  in 
hours  of  temptation.  These  glorious  truths,  or  stars,  do 
indeed  fall  to  the  earth  when  man  drags  them  down  to  the 
justification  of  a  perverted,  sensual,  earthly  and  evil  life, 


THE    LORD'S   SECOND   COMING.  199 

expecting  to  escape  the  legitimate  consequences  of  his  acts, 
and  to  reach  heaven  in  the  end  by  an  easier  way  than  by 
striving  daily  and  earnestly  to  live  a  life  according  to  the 
commandments  and  the  Lord's  sayings. 

"  When  the  knowledges  of  Divine  and  heavenly  things, 
the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  fade  from  the  memories 
of  men,  and  they  forget  them,  no  longer  recurring  to  them 
in  thought,  but  grope  on  without  them,  immersed  in  the 
thought  and  feeling  of  selfish  and  worldly  things,  then  the 
stars  are  said  to  fall  from  their  places,  or  to  cease  from 
shining,  and  so  disappear.  For  at  such  times  the  whole 
heaven  becomes  dark;  men  no  longer  look  up.  There  is 
no  longer  any  illumination  as  to  spiritual  things.  And 
He  who  came  to  be  the  light  of  the  world  is  no  longer  able 
to  shine  at  such  times,  or  in  such  a  class  of  minds,  by  any 
of  the  lamps  of  His  truth. 

"  Such  being  the  meaning  of  this  symbolism,  therefore, 
at  one  place  in  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  where  the  New  Jeru- 
salem is  spoken  of,  after  it  shall  have  arrived  at  its  full, 
and  so,  a  happy  and  prosperous  state  of  the  church  is 
depicted  as  coming  in  the  latter  times,  there  a  contrary 
form  of  speaking  is  employed ;  and  to  the  church  there 
addressed  it  is  said,  '  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down, 
neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  itself ;  for  the  Lord  shall 
be  thine  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning 
shall  be  ended;'  whereby  is  signified  and  meant  the  last  or 
full  state  of  the  true  Christian  Church  in  the  latter  times ; 
described  also  in  the  last  chapter  of  Eevelation,  in  which 
charity  or  love  shall  no  more  decay,  nor  genuine,  rational, 
and  living  faith  become  extinct." 

It  will  be  seen,  as  has  already  been  intimated,  that  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  was  not 
to  be  in  the  material  clouds  of  earth,  but  in  the  Word  in 
its  literal  sense — which  constitutes  the  clouds  of  heaven — 
revealing  its  spirit  and  life ;  for  it  is  through  the  letter  of 
the  Word  that  man  receives  spiritual  light  and  hettt,  OP 
truth  and  love,  as  lie  receives  natural  light  and  heak 
through  the  natural  clouds  and  atmosphere. 


200  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

The  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem,  which  was  to  descend 
from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven,  at  the  time  of  His  second 
coming,  was  not  to  be  a  literal  city  of  twelve  thousand 
furlongs,  of  equal  length,  breadth  and  height,  but  a  new 
church  or  dispensation  to  be  established  by  the  Lord  at 
the  end  of  the  first  Christian  Church  or  dispensation.  A 
city  corresponds  to  a  church  as  to  doctrine,  for  men  dwell 
in  a  city  naturally  as  they  do  in  a  church  spiritually.  The 
gates  of  a  city  correspond  to  the  introductory  truths  which 
lead  to  the  church ;  the  streets  of  a  city  correspond  to  all 
things  of  truth  which  lead  to  good,  or  all  things  of  faith 
which  lead  to  love  and  charity,  in  which  men  should 
abide,  and  whereas  truths  become  of  good,  and  thus  trans- 
parent from  good,  the  street  of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  said 
to  be  pure  gold  as  transparent  glass.  The  foundations  of 
a  wall  signify  the  knowledges  of  truth,  whereupon  doc- 
trinals  are  founded,  and  the  walls  of  a  city  correspond  to 
the  truths  and  doctrines  in  the  letter  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures by  which  the  church  is  defended  and  preserved. 
That  Jerusalem  signifies  the  church  in  the  language  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures  has  been  recognized  among  Christians, 
and  it  is  manifest  that  the  New  Jerusalem  must  signify  a 
new  church. 

There  are  not  wanting  commentators,  who,  within  the 
last  few  years,  simply  by  studying  the  Scriptures,  without 
a  knowledge  of  the  revelations  contained  in  the  writings 
of  Swedenborg,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  lan- 
guage predicting  the  end  of  the  world,  and  the  Second 
Coming,  is  figurative  or  symbolical,  "  Thus/*'  says  Rev. 
Wm.  B.  Hayden,  "writers  increase  who  give  up  all  belief 
in  a  physical  catastrophe.  An  opening  of  the  Divine 
prophecies  according  to  the  laws  of  correspondence  ren- 
ders clear  all  the  subjects  to  which  they  relate ;  it  removes 
the  obscurities  and  brings  us  face  to  face  with  those  great 
realities  of  which  the  Bible  treats.  It  enlightens  our 
minds  by  disclosing  the  actual  meaning  of  the  Scriptures 
and  placing  before  our  thought  tho  enduring  truths  of 
heaven  and  the  church. 


THE  LORD'S  SECOKD   COMING,  201 

"We  have  already  seen  they  are  the  interpretations 
which  the  Scriptures  themselves,  when  rightly  examined, 
induce  us  to  put  upon  them.  They  are  the  Lord's  own 
commentary  on  His  own  book.  They  express  exactly 
what  the  Bible  says  and  means  when  it  is  allowed  to  bring 
out  its  whole  thought. 

"  It  is  the  mode  of  interpretation  that  our  Lord  and  His 
apostles  applied  to  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  when 
they  came  and  told  the  Jews  that  they  were  no  longer  to 
look  for  the  establishment  of  a  great  earthly  kingdom, 
but  only  for  a  new  spiritual  kingdom  ;  that  the  Messiah, 
instead  of  being  a  great  earthly  Monarch,  of  vast  power 
arid  influence,  sitting  upon  the  literal  throne  of  David,  was 
a  spiritual  Monarch,  ruling  by  the  convincing  power  of  His 
truth,  and  through  the  influences  of  His  Spirit  upon  the 
hearts  of  men.  It  seems  to  us  that  Christianity  is  a 
broader,  more  interesting,  more  real,  more  important  fact 
than  a  universal  Jewish  empire  would  have  been  though 
it  had  covered  the  whole  earth  ;  while  the  spiritual  fact  is 
far  more  useful  to  mankind  than  the  literal  fact  would 
have  been. 

"And  so  now,  we  get  clear,  definite,  rational,  consistent 
views  of  the  higher,  nobler,  and  more  enduring  realities 
by  opening  our  eyes  to  the  spiritual  sense  an.i  meaning  of 
Divine  prophecy  and  Holy  Scripture,  than  by  confining 
our  thoughts  to  the  mere  letter  or  outward  symbol  of  the 
Bible;  the  shell  or  husk  in  which  the  pure  wheat  of 
heavenly  truth  lies  enclosed,  and  to  some  concealed. 

"  An  event  which  affects  the  mental  and  spiritual  states 
of  mankind,  operating  to  mould  their  character  and  their 
destiny  through  a  succession  of  ages,  is  far  greater,  and 
holds  a  better  place  in  the  memories  of  men,  than  one 
which  affects  merely  physical  bodies,  like  convulsions  of 
the  earth,  How  little  do  we  remember  or  care  to  recall 
the  great  eruption  of  Vesuvius  which  overwhelmed  the 
cities  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum !  The  simple  preach- 
ing of  Paul  in  the  city  of  Home  was  a  more  significant 


202  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

fact,  and  one  which  lives  more  vividly  in  the  hearts  of 
men/' 

If  the  reader  would  understand  fully  the  prophecies  in 
regard  to  the  end  of  the  world  and  the  Second  Coming 
of  the  Lord,  and  especially  if  he  would  understand  the 
signs  of  the  present  times,  and  the  wonderful  age  in  which 
we  live,  he  must  read  the  writings  of  Emanuel  Sweden- 
borg,  especially  the  "Apocalypse  Revealed;"  and  a  new 
world  of  affection,  thought  and  beauty,  will  be  opened  to 
his  astonished  vision. 

XXIX. 

The  Resurrection. 

"There  is  a  natural  body  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body." 
In  order  that  we  may  understand  clearly  the  great  doctrine 
of  the  Resurrection,  it  is  all-important  that  we  bear  in 
mind  this  enunciation  of  the  Apostle.  He  does  not  say 
there  is  now  a  natural  body,  and  there  shall  hereafter  be  a 
spiritual  body;  but  he  says,  there  is  a  natural  body,  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  body.  If  we  remember  this  great  truth, 
the  scriptural  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection  will  be  found 
to  be  very  clear  and  beautiful. 

We  should  also  bear  in  mind,  that  the  Scriptures  treat 
of  two  kinds  of  life,  two  kinds  of  death,  two  kinds  of 
resurrection,. and  two  kinds  of  graves.  First,  Of  natural 
life,  and  of  spiritual  life  or  the  life  of  regeneration— life  of 
love  to  the  Lord  and  the  neighbor,  the  result  of  the  new 
birth,  or  of  being  born  again.  Second,  Death  of  the 
material  body,  and  being  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins — the 
state  of  man  previous  to  regeneration ;  and  finally,  if  man 
does  not  allow  himself  to  be  regenerated,  the  death  of  all 
heavenly  affections  or  of  love  to  the  Lord  and  his  neigh- 
bor in  his  soul,  when  he  comes  to  be  completely  ruled  by 
selfishness — the  second  death.  Third,  The  resurrection 
of  the  spiritual  body  from  the  natural  body  when  the  latter 
dies,  and  the  resurrection  from  the  unregenerate  state  to 


THE  RESURRECTION.  203 

the  heavenly  state,  which  results  from  the  new  birth. 
Fourth,  The  grave  of  the  natural  body,  from  which  the 
spirit  is  raised  when  the  body  dies,  and  the  grave  denoted 
by  the  lifeless  and  dead  state  of  those  who  are  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins. 

Man,  while  he  lives  here,  is  a  spirit  clothed  with  matter. 
The  material  body  is  constantly  changing;  particles  are 
being  worn  out  and  cast  off;  and  new  ones  are  received, 
which  take  their  place.  The  body  increases  during  child- 
hood and  youth,  remains  comparatively  stationary  during 
adult  life,  and  gradually  withers  as  old  age  approaches. 
Why  all  these  changes  ?  Do  the  particles  of  matter,  or 
the  articles  of  food  we  eat,  possess  the  power  and  capacity 
of  changing  themselves  into  living  structures?  and  do 
they  possess  the  intelligence  to  see  when  their  services  are 
no  longer  needed  ? 

Every  one  can  but  see,  that  the  power  and  intelligence 
to  organize  themselves  into  living  structures  are  not  con- 
tained in  the  materials  from  which  our  bodies  are  formed ; 
but  that  there  is  a  living  force  within  the  body,  which 
moulds  and  organizes  these  natural  substances  into  mus- 
cles, bones,  nerves,  and  various  other  tissues.  If  this  is  so, 
it  follows  that  this  living  principle  must  occupy  every  part 
of  the  body,  or  the  part  could  never  have  been  organized, 
and  would  not  now  be  alive.  The  matter,  then,  of  which 
our  bodies  are  composed,  is  made  alive  by  the  indwelling 
spirit,  and  our  material  bodies  are  but  the  clothing  of  our 
spirits.  It  follows  as  a  necessary  consequence  that  the 
spirit  is  in  the  form  of  the  body — that  it  is,  in  the  language 
of  St.  Paul,  "a  spiritual  body."  We  see  daily  manifesta- 
tions of  the  quality  or  character  of  man's  spirit  in  his 
external  words  and  acts;  for  the  body  only  speaks  and 
acts  as  it  is  acted  upon  by  the  spirit ;  and  the  affections 
and  thoughts  which  are  manifested  in  acts  and  speech  are 
spiritual  and  not  material.  Who  does  not  see  that  a  man 
is  a  man  from  the  spirit  and  not  from  the  material  body  ? 

With  this  view  of  man,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 


204  SKEPTICISM  AND  DIVINE  BEVELATTON. 

what  is  meant  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  a^d  when 
it  occurs.  It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  apostolic 
doctrine  upon  this  subject,  and  the  Apostle's  beautiful  illus- 
trations. "  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual 
body;"  or  perhaps,  more  correctly  translated,  " A  natural 
body  is  sown;  a  spiritual  body  is  raised;  for  there  is  a 
natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body,"  says  the 
Apostle. 

But  previous  to  this  positive  assertion,  the  Apostle  had 
been  giving  some  familiar  illustrations  in  regard  to  the 
resurrection,  and  the  resurrection  body.  He  says,  "But 
some  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  up?  and  with  what 
body  do  they  come  ?  Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  sowest 
is  not  quickened  except  it  die.  And  that  which  thoul 
sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare 
grain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some  other  grain."  How 
clearly  and  unequivocally  does  the  Apostle  affirm,  in  the 
above  passage,  that  the  body  which  is  cast  off  at  death  is 
not  the  body  that  is  to  be  raised  up;  "but,"  says  tho 
Apostle,  "  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  and 
to  every  seed  his  own  body."  And,  as  if  afraid  some  might 
mistake  his  meaning,  and  suppose  that  the  natural  body  is 
to  be  raised,  he  continues :  "  All  flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh ; 
but  there  is  one  kind  of  flesh  of  men,  another  flesh  of] 
beasts,  another  of  fishes,  and  another  of  birds.  There  are 
also  celestial  bodies,  and  bodies  terrestrial;  but  the  glory  of 
the  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is  another. ; 
There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  glory  of  the] 
moon,  and  another  glory  of  the  stars ;  for  one  star  differeth 
from  another  star  in  glory.  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  j 
the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incor- 
ruption ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory;  it  is 
eown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power"  (1  Corinthians, 
15th  chapter). 

All  this  is  evidently  intended  to  show  that  our  material, 
natural  bodies  are  not  to  be  raised,  but  that  they  return  to 
dust,  nevermore  to  be  required  or  desired  by  us,  If  this 


THE   RESURRECTION.  205 

were  not  true,  there  would  be  no  sense  in  his  illustrations. 
The  Apostle  compares  the  death  of  the  natural  body,  and 
the  resurrection,  to  the  sowing  of  grain ;  and  a  very  beau- 
tiful illustration  it  is.  We  cast  the  kernel  of  wheat  into 
the  earth,  and  there  is  within  it  a  living  force,  or  spirit  if 
you  please;  and  there  springs  forth  from  the  seed  anew 
plant,  capable  of  bearing  seed  in  its  turn.  So  long  as  the 
seed  is  not  cast  into  the  earth,  its  living  force  remains 
inactive;  but  when  duly  moistened  and  warmed,  as  the 
little  seed  is  decomposed  and  disappears,  there  springs 
forth  the  new  blade  and  leaf.  Thus  the  Apostle  would 
have  us  understand  it  is  with  man,  when  this  natural  body 
dies  and  returns  to  its  mother  dust;  there  then  comes 
forth  from  it  a  spiritual  body,  as  the  new  plant  comes  forth 
from  the  dying  seed.  The  resurrection,  then,  takes  place 
at  death.  Then  the  spiritual  body  or  soul  is  raised  from 
the  dead  body,  and  the  latter  is  decomposed. 

But  let  the  kernel  of  grain  be  decomposed,  and  return 
to  dust  without  a  new  plant  arising  as  it  dies,  and  we  all 
know  that  there  can  be  no  resurrection;  no  new  plant  can 
ever  come  forth  from  the  dust  of  which  the  seed  or  old 
plant  was  composed.  Now,  if  the  Apostle's  illustration  is 
correct,  or  a  good  one,  so  it  must  be  with  man ;  if  his  body 
dies  and  returns  to  dust,  without  there  springing  forth,  or 
being  raised  from  it,  at  the  very  time  it  dies,  the  spiritual 
body,  there  can  be  no  resurrection. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Apostle  speaks  of  the  resurrec- 
tion in  the  present  tense,  as  occurring  at  the  time  when 
the  body  is  sown,  and  he  does  not  speak  of  it  as  a  future 
event. 

We  are  nowhere  in  the  Bible  taught  that  the  material 
body,  when  it  is  once  put  off  at  death,  is  ever  to  be  raised 
again. 

In  the  revelations  made  by  the  Lord,  through  Emanuel 
Swedenborg,  to  all  who  are  willing  to  receive  Him  at  His 
Second  Coming,  we  are  told  that  "  man  rises  immediately 
after  death,  and  then  appears  to  himself  in  the  body  alto- 


206  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

gether  as  in  the  world,  with  such  a  face,  with  such  mem- 
bers, arms,  hands,  feet,  belly,  loins;  yea,  also,  when  he 
sees  himself  and  touches  himself,  he  saith  that  he  is  a 
man  as  in  the  world."  (A.  C.  5078.) 

Again  we  are  told :  "  The  spirit  of  man,  after  the  death 
of  the  body,  appears  in  the  spiritual  world  in  the  human 
form,  altogether  as  in  the  natural  world ;  he  enjoys  also 
the  faculty  of  seeing,  of  hearing,  of  speaking,  of  feeling,  as 
in  the  world;  and  he  is  endowed  with  every  faculty  of 
thinking,  of  willing,  and  of  acting,  as  in  the  world.  In  a 
word,  he  is  -a  man  as  to  all  things  and  every  particular, 
except  that  he  is  not  encompassed  with  that  gross  body 
which  he  had  in  the  world ;  he  leaves  that  when  he  dies, 
nor  does  he  ever  resume  it.  This  continuation  of  life  is 
what  is  understood  by  the  resurrection.  The  reason  why 
men  believe  that  they  are  not  to  rise  again  before  the  last 
judgment,  when  also  every  visible  object  of  the  world  is 
(expected)  to  perish,  is  because  they  have  not  understood 
the  Word ;  and  because  sensual  men  place  their  life  in  the 
body,  and  believe  that  unless  this  were  to  live  again,  it  would 
be  all  over  with  the  man.  The  life  of  man  after  death  is  the 
life  of  his  love  and  the  life  of  his  faith ;  hence,  such  as  his 
love  and  such  as  his  faith  had  been,  when  he  lived  in  the 
world,  such  his  life  remains  to  eternity.  It  is  the  life  of 
hell  with  those  who  have  loved  themselves  and  the  world 
above  all  things ;  and  the  life  of  heaven  with  those  who 
have  loved  God  above  all  things,  and  their  neighbor  as 
themselves.  The  latter  are  they  that  have  faith,  but  the 
former  are  they  that  have  not  faith.  The  life  of  heaven  is 
what  is  called  eternal  life ;  the  life  of  hell  is  what  is  called 
spiritual  death."— N.  J.  D.  223-7. 

The  Lord  while  on  earth  declared,  "  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  Life;  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though  h0 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ;  and  he  that  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth in  me,  shall  never  die  "  (John  xi.  26). 

When  a  man  is  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  the  Lord 
alone  can  raise  him,  when  he  sincerely  believes  on  Him; 


THE   BESURKECTKW.  207 

and  when  he  does  thus  raise  him,  he  shall  never  die:  by 
this  we  cannot  understand  that  he  is  not  to  suffer  natural 
death,  for  we  know  that  all  men  die  naturally;  but  we  are 
to  understand  that  he  is  not  to  suffer  spiritual  death,  or  to 
become  again  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  He  will  there- 
fore live  right  on,  for  it  is  not  in  regard  to  natural  death 
that  the  Lord  is  speaking.  Again,  the  Lord  says:  "Every 
one  that  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on  him,  shall  have 
everlasting  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day." 
That  is,  he  will  transplant  him  into  eternal  life,  when  the 
last  day  of  natural  life  comes,  and  he  shall  live  to  eter- 
nity. 

If  we  would  understand  the  plain  teachings  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures  upon  the  subject  we  are  considering,  we 
must  ever  remember,  as  we  read,  that  when  they  speak  of 
death  and  the  resurrection,  they  do  not  always  refer  to 
natural  death,  and  the  resurrection  of  the  material  body 
is  not  even  noticed  once,  nor  do  they  always  refer  to  the 
resurrection  of  the  spirit  of  man  from  his  worn-out  body 
at  death  ;  but  they  often  refer  to  the  regeneration  of  man, 
or  to  his  being  raised  out  of  the  low,  ignorant,  sensual,  and 
selfish  state  into  which  our  race  has  sunken  at  this  day, 
up  into  a  state  of  heavenly  light  and  life  by  the  Lord, 
when  man  looks  to  Him,  and  hears  and  tries  to  keep  His 
sayings. 

Therefore  the  Apostle  says :  "  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light" 
(Eph.  v.  14).  No  one  will  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the 
Apostle  was  addressing  dead  bodies,  or  the  souls  of  dead 
men. 

In  reading  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  it  is  all-important 
that  we  notice  that  the  Apostle  does  not  always  clearly 
separate,  so  that  we  readily  perceive  it,  in  his  manner  of 
speaking,  the  idea  of  resurrection  from  that  of  regen- 
eration ;  and  it  is  often  impossible  to  apply  what  he  says 
of  the  resurrection  to  any  but  the  regenerate. 

The  Apostle  distinctly  teaches  us,  in  this  chapter,  that 


208  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

even  if  the  material  body  should  be  raised,  it  could  not 
enter  heaven,  for  he  says :  "  Now  this  I  say,  brethren,  that 
flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption  "  (1  Cor.  xv. 
50). 

If  we  turn  to  the  fifth  chapter  of  2  Corinthians,  after 
having  declared  that  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a 
moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory,  the  Apostle  goes  on  to  show  that  this  is  to 
be  entered  upon  as  soon  as  our  earthly  body  dies.  He 
says:  "For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  tabernacle  were 
dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Consequently,  by 
this  house  in  the  heavens,  as  opposed  to  the  tabernacle  of 
the  natural  body,  he  means  the  spiritual  body,  which,  in 
his  first  epistle,  he  declares  man  already  possesses,  and  in 
which  the  soul  of  the  faithful  will  dwell  after  death  to 
eternity.  "For  this,"  he  adds,  "we  groan,  earnestly  de- 
siring to  be  clothed  upon  with  our  house  which  is  from 
heaven:  if  so  be  that,  being  clothed,  we  shall  not  be  found 
naked." 

How  plain  is  the  Apostle's  teaching,  that  the  true  Chris- 
tian, while  working  out  his  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling, as  the  work  of  regeneration  progresses,  is  daily 
being  clothed  upon  by  his  house  which  is  from  heaven. 
The  beautiful  garments  of  truth  which  he  is  receiving  into 
his  understanding  from  God's  Word,  and  which  convey  to 
his  heart  the  Divine  love,  and  thus  nourish  his  spirit,  in 
accordance  with  the  Lord's  words  when  he  declares  that 
man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
which  proceeds  out  of  the  mouth  of  God  shall  he  live,  are  \ 
building  up  the  house  not  made  with  hands;  so  that, 
when  he  is  stripped  of  the  natural  body,  his  spiritual  body 
shall  not  appear  destitute  of  heavenly  truths  and  graces, 
and  present  the  form  and  image  of  all  our  natural  corrup- 
tions, of  which  nakedness  and  shame  are  constantly  predi- 
cated in  the  language  of  inspiration. 


THE   EESUBRECTIOtf. 

The  Apostle  continues :  "  For  we  that  are  in  this  taber- 
nacle do  groan,  being  burdened :  not  for  that  we  would 
be  unclothed;"  that  is,  not  anxious  to  escape  from  the 
cares  and  troubles  of  this  world  by  death,  until  clothed 
upon  by  being  invested  by  a  truly  heavenly  as  well  as  a 
spiritual  form.  And  the  reason  which  he  gives  for  pre- 
ferring to  be  clothed  upon,  to  dying,  is  "that  mortality 
might  be  swallowed  up  of  life;'*  or  that  he  might  bring 
his  natural  appetites  and  passions  under  subjection  to 
the  spiritual  or  new  man,  and  thus  be  prepared  for 
such  glorious  investments  as  the  faithful  have  a  right 
to  expect  immediately  after  death.  Accordingly  he  pre- 
sently adds:  "  Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  know- 
ing that  while  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent 
from  the  Lord  ;  we  are  confident,  I  say,  willing  rather  to  be 
absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord." 

How  clear  it  is  that  the  Apostle  expected  when  death 
should  dissolve  his  earthly  tabernacle  or  body,  that  he 
would  immediately  stand  forth  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  not  naked,  but  clothed  with  a  beautiful  angelic 
form  ;  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  but  formed  from  the 
eternal  and  heavenly  principles  of  goodness  and  truth 
from  the  Lord. 

What  a  sublime  and  practical  doctrine  is  this,  dear 
reader!  That  we  are  daily,  by  every  thought  we  harbor, 
by  every  word  we  speak,  and  every  act  we  do,  perfecting 
and  building  up  an  angelic  form  within  us,  and  obscuring 
our  spiritual  nakedness,  by  being  clothed  by  beautiful 
garments,  or  sublime  truths  from  G-od's  holy  Word :  or  we 
are,  on  the  other  hand,  becoming  more  and  more  naked, 
by  neglecting  and  rejecting  the  truths  of  revelation,  and 
more  and  more  deformed  by  harboring  evil  thoughts, 
speaking  false  and  harmful  words,  and  doing  evil  acts. 

The  Apostle  then  teaches  a  practical  doctrine  in  regard 
to  the  resurrection — that  death  in  this  world  is  resurrec- 
tion into  the  next,  or  spiritual  world — and  if  we  examine 
we  shall  find  that  all  Scripture,  as  well  as  reason,  are  in, 
harmonv  with  this  doctrine. 


SKEPTICISM   AND  DIVINE   EEVELATION. 

The  Lord,  from  the  cross,  declared  to  the  penitent 
thief:  "Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt  thou  be  with 
me  in  paradise  "  (Luke  xxiii.  43). 

In  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  we  read : 
"  The  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by  angels  into  Abra- 
ham's bosom:  the  rich  man  also  died,  and  was  buried, 
and  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments,  and 
seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom.  And 
he  cried  and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on  me, 
and  send  Lazarus  that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger 
in  water  and  cool  my  tongue ;  for  I  am  tormented  in  this 
flame." 

In  this  passage  the  Lord  not  only  teaches  that  men 
arise  immediately  after  death,  and  begin  to  receive  their 
reward,  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  but  he 
also  teaches  that  a  man's  spiritual  body  has  a  bosom, 
tongue,  finger,  and  consequently  all  the  other  organs 
which  the  natural  body  has  here. 

At  the  Lord's  transfiguration  we  read:  "And  behold 
there  talked  with  him  two  men,  which  were  Moses  and 
Elias,  who  appeared  in  glory,  and  spoke  of  His  decease 
which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem."  Moses  and 
Elias,  although  their  natural  bodies  were  long  dead,  were 
here  seen  as  men,  of  course  possessing  spiritual  bodies,  by 
Peter  and  those  who  were  with  him  (Luke  ix.  30,  31). 

The  Lord  Jesus,  in  His  reply  to  the  Sadducees,  teaches 
most  explicitly  that  the  time-honored  Prophets  are  not 
dead,  but  are  living;  of  course  in  the  spiritual  world, 
raised  up  from  their  dead  earthly  bodies.  He  says:  "But 
as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read 
that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God,  saying,  I  am  the 
God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of 
Jacob?  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living  "  (Matt.  xxii.  31,  32). 

Now  if  it  is  true  that  God  is  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob,  as  He  declares  He  is,  and  if  He  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  it  follows  necessarily  that  they  are  living. 


THE    RESUKRECTION.  211 

How  exactly  does  this  accord  with  the  teachings  of 
Solomon,  when  he  says :  "  If  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or 
the  golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at 
the  fountain,  or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern,  then 
shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was ;  and  the  spirit 
shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it"  (Eccl.  xii.  6,  7). 
We  have  not  the  slightest  intimation  that  they  are  ever 
to  be  reunited,  but  we  are  assured  that  the  dead  body  is  to 
be  returned  to  the  dust  as  it  was,  and  we  see  that  it  does 
steadily  crumble  ^back  to  its  native  elements. 

The  Apostle  John,  when  caught  up  to  heaven, 
"  Beheld  a  great  multitude  which  no  man  could  number, 
of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  peoples,  and  tongues, 
standing  before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed 
in  white  robes,"  uniting  with  the  angels  in  their  everlast-r 
ing  song  of  praise.  The  Apostle  asked  who  these  persons 
were  ?  The  angel  informed  him,  that  they  were  u  those 
who  came  up  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  had  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  "  Therefore,"  the  angel  adds,  "  they  are  before 
the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  the 
temple  "  (Eev.  iv.  1,  6). 

No  one  questions  but  that  those  were  men,  and  in  the 
human  form,  having  bodies  which  could  be  seen  by 
spiritual  eyes.  Can  any  one  suppose  that  this  vast  multi- 
tude, enjoying  angelic  bliss  as  exquisite  as  can  be  con- 
ceived, are  again  to  resume  their  bodies  of  clay  ?  how 
absurd  and  opposed  to  Scripture  is  such  an  idea ! 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  a  few  of  the  passages  which 
are  supposed  to  teach  a  resurrection  of  the  material  body. 
And  first  the  celebrated  one  from  the  nineteenth  chapter 
of  Job,  25,  26,  27.  "I  know  that  my  Eedeemer  liveth, 
and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth  ; 
and  though  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in 
my  flesh  shall  I  see  God  0  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and 
mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another;  though  ray  reins 
be  consumed  within  me."  Job  had  been  sorely  afflicted, 


212  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

with  boils  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his  crown ;  he 
was  wasted  away  to  mere  skin  and  bone  as  it  were.  He 
says  of  his  condition :  "  My  bone  cleaveth  to  my  skin  as 
to  my  flesh,  and  I  am  escaped  with  the  skin  of  my  teeth." 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  in  his  confidence  in  the 
Lord,  he  expresses  his  conviction,  in  the  passage  we  have 
read,  that  he  shall  not  die,  but  shall  see  God  interposing 
in  his  behalf,  while  he  is  still  living  in  the  flesh. 

By  looking  at  the  passage  which  has  been  read  from 
Job,  which  is  supposed  by  some  to  teach  the  resurrection 
of  the  body^  we  will  find  that  the  words,  worms  and  body, 
are  in  italics;  which  denote  that  they  were  not  in  the 
original,  but  were  added  by  the  translator. 

If  we  turn  10  the  last  chapter  of  Job  we  read:  "Then 
Job  answered  the  Lord  and  said  :  I  know  that  thou  canst 
do  everything,  and  that  no  thought  can  be  withholden 
from  thee.  *  *  *  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing 
of  the  ear;  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee."  And  we  read 
still  further  that  the  "  Lord  turned  the  captivity  ol  Job, 
when  he  prayed  for  his  friends;  also,  the  Lord  gave  Job 
twice  as  much  as  he  had  before."  "  After  this  lived  Job  a 
hundred  and  forty  years,  and  saw  his  sons,  and  his  sou's 
sons,  even  four  generations.  So  Job  died,  being  old  and 
full  of  days."  What  a  remarkable  accomplishment  of  all 
that  he  expected  of  the  Lord,  as  expressed  when  he 
exclaimed,  "I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall 
behold,  and  not  another." 

In  the  fifth  chapter  of  John  the  Lord  says,  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  heareth  my  word  and  be- 
lie veth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed  from 
death  unto  life."  In  this  verse  the  Lord  is  evidently 
speaking  to  and  of  living  men  ;  therefore  He  cannot  mean 
that  they  have  passed  from  natural  death  unto  a  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body,  or  even  of  the  spirit.  He  manifestly  is 
speaking  of  the  spiritual  regeneration  of  man,  or  of  his 
passing  from  a  low  and  dead  state,  spiritually,  to  a  living 


THE   RESURRECTION.  213 

state,  by  hearing  and  believing  on  the  Lord  and  keeping 
his  sayings. 

If  we  would  correctly  understand  what  follows,  in  the 
next  few  verses,  it  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  we 
have  in  the  verse  just  read  positive  evidence  that  the  Lord 
is  not  speaking  of  natural  death  and  life.  In  the  next 
verse  we  read : 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming,  and 
now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God;  and  they  that  hear  shall  live." 

Now  if  we  understand  that  he  refers  to  those  who  are 

dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  it  is  all  very  plain;  for  wickSd 

men,  while  they  live  in  this  world,  may  hear  the  voice  of 

v  the  Son  of  God  and  live,  for  they  are  yet  enjoying  a  state 

of  probation. 

But  if  he  referred  fco  those  who  are  dead  physically,  and 
to  the  resurrection  of  their  dead  bodies,  we  may  certainly 
inquire  what  has  become  of  their  resurrected  bodies;  did 
they  again  die  ?  and,  if  so,  is  there  any  hope  of  their  again 
being  raised  ?  How  manifest  it  is  that  the  Lord  is  not 
speaking  of  those  who  died  naturally,  or  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  natural  body ;  but  he  is  speaking  of  the  dead 
who  are  yet  living  in  this  world,  and  the  life  to  which  he 
refers  is  not  physical  life.  Let  us  read  on : 

"  For  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He 
given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself."  Surely  he  does 
not  here  refer  to  physical  life.  "And  hath  given  Him 
authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  He  is  the  Son 
of  man.  Marvel  not  at  this ;  for  the  hour  is  coming  in 
the  which  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  His  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  life;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto 
the  resurrection  of  damnation." 

We  have  found  that  the  Lord  in  these  verses  is  not 
speaking  of  natural  death  and  life ;  and  we  shall  find  that 
it  is  equally  clear  that  he  does  not  refer  to  natural  graves, 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  natural  body,  in  the  passage 


214  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

just  read.  He  evidently  refers  to  a  judgment  about  to  be 
performed,  for  He  declares  that  authority  is  given  Him  to 
execute  judgment,  and  He  does  not  say  that  the  hour  will 
come  at  the  end  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  years,  but 
that  the  hour  is  coming — that  is,  it  is  near  at  hand — 
when  this  judgment  is  to  be  executed.  If  we  turn  over  to 
the  12th  chapter  of  John,  31st  verse,  tie  assures  us  that 
that  judgment  was  then  being  performed,  for  he  declares: 

"JSTow  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  now  shall  the 
prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out."  Here  then,  beyond  the 
possibility  of  a  doubt,  the  hour  of  which  he  spoke  as 
coming,  had  arrived,  when  all  that  were  in  the  graves 
should  hear  his  voice  and  come  forth ;  they  that  had  done 
good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  had 
done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation. 

For  judgment  came  He  into  the  world.  All  that  were 
in  the  graves  heard  his  voice ;  the  good  came  forth  to  the 
resurrection  of  life,  the  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation.  Then  was  the  prince  of  this  world  cast  out. 

Were  the  natural  bodies  of  those  who  were  dead  raised 
at  that  judgment  ?  or  were  their  natural  graves  disturbed 
at  all?  We  know  that  they  were  not;  for  most  of  us 
have  doubtless  seen,  as  Egyptian  mummies,  the  dead 
bodies  of  those  who  died  long  before  that  judgment, 
still  invested  in  their  winding  sheets.  And  another  cir- 
cumstance worthy  of  our  most  serious  attention  attended 
that  judgment  and  resurrection.  The  time  of  that  judg- 
ment was  unknown  to  and  unnoticed  by  the  great  mass  of 
mankind  ;  in  fact,  by  all  except  the  few  to  whom  the  Lord 
was  speaking.  Men,  we  read,  are  to  be  judged  according 
to  the  deeds  done  here  in  the  body.  It  follows,  of  course, 
that  this  can  only  be  done  after  the  completion  of  man's 
natural  life,  and  therefore  the  judgment  must  take  place 
in  the  spiritual  world;  so  that  it  was  not  strange  that 
mankind  generally  knew  nothing  about  that  judgment. 

The  case  of  Elijah  is  supposed  to  form  some  proof  of 
the  possibility  of  the  resurrection  of  the  material  body, 


THE   KESUKKECTIOK.  215 

and  also  that  it  will  be  raised.  In  reply  we  cannot  do 
better  than  to  make  a  quotation  from  that  excellent  work. 
"An  Appeal  to  the  Reflecting  of  all  Denominations,"  by 
Eev.  Samuel  Noble.  He  says:  "Quite  evident,  then,  it  is, 
that  whatever  became  of  Elijah's  material  body,  it  was  not 
carried  up  into  heaven ;  for  quite  evident  it  is,  though  the 
circumstance  is  generally  overlooked,  that  the  translation 
of  Elijah  was  not  seen  by  Elisha  with  the  eyes  of  his  body, 
but  with  those  of  his  spirit.  *  *  *  Elisha  had  asked 
that  a  double  portion  of  his  master's  spirit  might  be  upon 
him ;  to  which  Elijah  answered :  '  Thou  hast  asked  a  hard 
thing ;  nevertheless  if  thou  see  me  when  I  am  taken  from 
thee,  it  shall  be  so  unto  thee;  but  if  not,  it  shall  not  be 
so'  (2  Kings  ii.  10).  Elijah  knew  that  the  miraculous 
event  about  to  take  place  would  be  imperceptible  to  any 
man  in  his  natural  state,  and  could  not  be  beheld  by 
Elisha,  unless  by  special  divine  favor  the  sight  of  his  spirit 
were  opened  to  behold  it ;  the  granting  then  to  Elisha  of 
the  favor  of  the  opening  of  his  spiritual  sight  was  to  be 
to  him  the  earnest  of  the  granting  to  htm  likewise  of  the 
other  favor  which  he  had  requested.  This  therefore  was 
done  and  distinctly  recorded.  'And  it  came  to  pass,  as 
they  still  went  on,  and  talked,  that  behold  there  appeared 
a  chariot  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire,  and  parted  them  both 
asunder;  and  Elijah  went  up  by  a  whirlwind  into  heaven/ 
Certain  it  is  that  this  chariot  and  horses  of  fire  did  not 
belong  to  the  natural  world,  but  that  they  were  a  spiritual 
appearance,  and  consequently  not  visible  to  the  sight  of 
man,  unless  he  were  put  into  a  spiritual  state  proper  for 
beholding  it.  That  Elisha,  then,  was  put  into  such  a  state 
is  intimated  by  its  being  immediately  added:  ( And  Elisha 
saw  it,' — that  is,  saw  the  whole  transaction,  both  the  fiery 
chariot  and  horses  and  the  transit  of  Elijah;  'and  hi 
cried,  my  father,  my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the 
horseman  thereof.' " 

Now  if  Elijah's  natural  body  was  to  have  been  trans- 
lated, there  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  Elisha's  see- 


216  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

ing  it  with  his  natural  eyes.  While  in  spiritual  vision 
Elisha  would  know  little  of  the  things  of  the  natural 
world,  and  Elijah's  dead  body  might  have  been  carried  off 
by  a  natural  whirlwind,  or  Elisha  may  have  wandered 
from  ic,  and  therefore  have  seen  it  no  more ;  or  again, 
seeing  its  real  occupant  depart,  he  may  have  regarded  it  as 
worthy  of  no  further  consideration  or  remark. 

If  the  reader  would  like  to  see  every  passage  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures  which  is  supposed  to  teach  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  natural  body  carefully  examined, 
both  as  to  translation  and  its  true  meaning,  he  will  do  well 
to  obtain  and  read  "  Noble's  Appeal." 

The  resurrection  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
occurred  on  the  third  day.  "The  crucifixion  occurred 
on  Friday  afternoon,  and  early  on  the  following  Sunday 
morning  a  company  of  angels  was  seen  around  the  tomb, 
and  they  gave  the  information  that  He  had  already  risen, 
and  was  with  them  in  their  world.  He  soon  appeared,  too, 
to  the  women  and  to  the  other  disciples.  He  became 
visible  to  them  in  His  glorified  body  by  an  opening  of  their 
spiritual  eyes,  as  we  plainly  read  in  Luke  xxiv.  31,  where 
it  is  said  that,  as  He  brake  bread  in  their  company,  'their 
eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him.' 

"  Now,  if  our  Lord's  resurrection  is  a  type  of  ours  (and 
from  the  Scripture  we  know  that  it  is),  then  our  resurrec- 
tion occurs  on  or  about  the  third  day  after  the  decease  of 
the  mortal  part,  as  soon  as  the  spirit  has  had  time  to  be 
entirely  withdrawn  from  its  former  body,  and  the  mind 
has  recovered  its  wonted  action. 

"  So  the  Prophet  Hosea,  in  the  sixth  chapter,  speaking 
of  this  subject  in  a  passage  that  has  been  generally  over- 
looked, says  distinctly — first  referring  to  the  dissolution 
which  the  Lord  works  upon  our  mortal  frames  through 
disease,  causing  death — 

'  He  hath  torn,  [but]  He  will  heal  us  ; 
He  hath  smitten,  [but]  He  will  bind  us  up ; 


THE   KESUKRECTIOtf.  217 

After  two  days  will  He  revive  us ; 
In  the  third  day  He  will  raise  us  up  ; 
And  'ice  shall  live  in  His  sight.' 

"  What  can  be  plainer  than  this  ?  Though  our  mortal 
frames  are  dissolved,  and  we  are  dead  in  the  sight  of  men, 
yet ' after  two  days  He  will  revive  us;  on  the  third  day  He 
will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  live  in  His  sight/  and  in  the 
sight  of  angels,  agreeably  to  our  Lord's  words  already 
quoted,  that  'to  HIM  all  are  living.9^ — Light  on  Last 
Things. 

Death,  we  see,  is  not  an  instantaneous  process,  accord- 
ing to  the  Divine  Word.  So  Swedenborg  informs  us  that 
the  separation  between  the  soul  and  body  is  generally 
completed,  and  the  resurrection  occurs,  about  the  third 
day  after  apparent  death  ;  but  with  more  or  less  variety  as 
to  time  in  different  cases,  owing  to  the  character  of  the 
disease,  or  the  cause  of  death. 

The  Lord  provides  that  the  highest,  or  celestial  angels, 
shall  be  present  with  every  one,  be  he  good  or  bad,  when 
he  dies,  so  that  his  first  reception  in  the  next  life  is  most 
kind.  And,  says  Swedenborg,  "  The  celestial  angels  who 
thus  minister  to  the  resuscitated  person,  do  not  leave  him, 
because  they  love  every  one ;  but  if  the  spirit  is  such  in 
quality  that  he  cannot  longer  continue  in  the  company  of 
celestial  angels,  he  feels  a  desire  to  depart  from  them. 
When  he  does,  angels  from  the  Lord's  spiritual  kingdom 
come  to  him." 

So  that  the  Lord  and  His  angels  never  forsake  the 
spirit;  but  if  he  is  not  satisfied  with  any  angelic  society, 
where  love  to  the  Lord  and  neighbor,  and  of  obedience  to 
the  Divine  commandments  prevails,  he  voluntarily  seeks 
his  like  in  hell,  or  among  those  where  selfishness,  in  its 
various  forms,  is  predominant.  But  the  Lord  does  not 
forsake  him  even  there;  for  he  permits  suffering  and  pun- 
ishments, restrained  by  angelic  influences  within  reason- 
able bounds,  to  follow  his  thinking  and  doing  evil,  in  his 
10 


£18  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

new  abode,  to  prevent  him  from  sinking  to  lower  depths 
of  evil,  and  consequent  suffering. 

The  reader  will  find  Swedenborg's  "Heaven  and  Hell" 
an  exceedingly  interesting  and  profitable  book  to  read,  if 
he  has  any  care  for  his  eternal  welfare;1* and  to  that  work 
we  must  refer  him. 

"  There  is  no  death  !  what  seems  so  is  transition, 

This  life  of  mortal  breath, 
Is  but  a  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 

Whose  portal  we  call  death." — Longfellow. 

XXX. 

State  of  Infants  in  the   Other  Life. 

WHAT  parent  is  there  who  has  lost  a  little  child  by 
death  that  has  felt  no  interest  in  the  fate  of  their 
darling  after  it  had  left  the  tender  care  of  its  earthly 
parents?  The  writer  well  remembers,  although  about 
thirty  years  have  passed  since  the  sad  event,  watching 
carefully  with  his  wife  the  sick  and,  as  the  event  proved, 
dying  couch  of  our  then  only  child,  a  little  boy  about  onfc 
year  old — a  beautiful  and  promising  child  as  we  thought. 
With  what  feelings  of  sadness  and  sorrow  we  closed  his 
eyes  in  death!  and  then,  0  then!  the  uncertainty,  the 
veil  that  was  between  us  and  the  object  of  our  affection! 
Into  whose  keeping  had  he  gone  ?  how  was  he  cared  for? 
why  should  the  Lord  place  us  in  such  darkness  ?  were  but 
questions  which  had  arisen  with  thousands  thus  circum- 
stanced before  us.  With  many  tears  we  laid  the  mortal 
remains  of  our  dear  one  in  an  earthly  grave — dust  to  dust. 
One  night  my  wife  awoke  from  sleep  in  the  greatest 
excitement,  sprang  up  in  bed,  and  declared  that  she  saw 
our  little  boy ;  that  he  was  sitting  upon  her  lap,  when  a 
beautiful  lady  appeared,  one  whom  she  recognized  and 
called  by  name,  a  playmate  and  companion  of  her  younger 
days,  but  who  had  died  several  years  before  this  event. 
She,  with  the  most  pleasant  and  kind  expression,  beckoned 


STATE   OF  lOTAOTS  IK  THE   OTHER  LIFE.  219 


our  darling  boy  to  come  to  her;  he  raised  his  little  arms 
and  with  expressions  of  joy  passed  to  her,  and  was  clasped 
in  her  loving  arms.  At  this  instant  the  excitement  was 
too  great,  the  curtain  dropped,  and  my  wife  awoke  as 
above.  It  was  all  so  real,  so  life-like,  that  we  felt  that  it 
was  more  than  a  dream  and  were  comforted.  How  much 
this  event  had  to  do  in  preparing  us  for  the  full  reception 
of  the  disclosures  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  world,  and  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem  revealed  by  the  Lord  in 
the  writings  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  the  reader  will 
perhaps  be  able  to  judge  after  reading  the  few  extracts 
which  we  propose  to  make  from  the  above  writings. 

"As  soon  as  infants  are  raised  from  the  dead,"  says 
Swedenborg,  "which  takes  place  immediately  after  their 
decease,  they  are  carried  up  into  heaven,  and  delivered  to 
the  care  of  angels  of  the  female  sex,  who  in  the  life  of  the 
body  loved  infants  tenderly,  and  at  the  same  time  loved 
God.  Since  those  angels  when  in  the  world  loved  all 
infants  from  a  sort  of  maternal  tenderness,  they  receive 
them  as  their  own  ;  and  the  infants  also,  from  an  affection 
implanted  in  them,  love  them  as  their  own  mothers."  — 
Heaven  and  Hell. 

tip  into  heaven,  means  not  up  in  material  space,  but  in 
spiritual  state.  The  angels  attendant  on  little  children, 
we  read,  do  always  behold  the  face  of  our  Father  in  the 
heavens. 

"  Some  believe,"  says  Swedenborg,  "that  only  the  infants 
who  are  born  within  the  church  are  admitted  into  heaven, 
but  not  those  who  are  born  out  of  the  church  ;  and  they 
assign  as  a  reason  that  children  born  in  the  church  are 
baptized,  and  are  initiated  by  baptism  into  the  faith  of  the 
church".  But  such  persons  are  not  aware  that  heaven  is 
not  imparted  to  any  one  by  baptism,  nor  by  faith  either  ; 
for  baptism  is  only  instituted  as  a  sign  and  memorial  that 
man  is  to  be  regenerated,  and  that  it  is  possible  for  those 
to  be  regenerated  who  are  born  in  the  church,  since  the 
church  possesses  the  Word,  in  which  are  contained  the 


SKEPTICISM  AND  DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

divine  truths  by  means  of  which  regeneration  is  effected,, 
and  in  the  church  the  Lord  is  known,  by  whom  it  is 
accomplished.  Be  it  known,  therefore,  that  every  infant 
or  little  child,  let  him  be  born  where  he  may,  whether  in 
the  church  or  out  of  it,  whether  of  pious  or  wicked  parents, 
is  received  when  be  dies  by  the  Lord,  and  is  educated  in 
heaven,  where  he  is  instructed  according  to  Divine  Order, 
and  is  imbued  with  affections  of  good,  and,  through  them, 
with  knowledges  of  truth ;  and  that  afterwards,  as  he  is 
perfected  in  intelligence  and  wisdom,  he  is  introduced 
into  heaven  and  becomes  an  angel.  Every  person  who 
thinks  from  reason  may  be  aware,  that  no  one  is  born  for 
hell,  but  all  for  heaven,  and  that  if  man  goes  to  hell  the 
blame  is  his  own,  but  no  blame  can  attach  to  infants  or 
little  children. 

"When  infants  &1Q9  they  are  still  infants  in  the  other 
life.  They  possess  tile  same  infantile  mind,  the  same  in- 
nocence in  ignorance,  and  the  same  tenderness  in  all 
things.  They  are  only  in  rudimental  states  introductory 
to  the  angelic;  for  infants  are  not  angels,  but  become 
angels.  Every  one,  on  his  decease,  is  in  a  similar  state 
of  life  to  that  in  which  he  was  in  the  world ;  an  infant  in 
the  state  of  infancy,  a  boy,  in  the  state  of  boyhood,  and  a 
youth,  a  man,  or  an  old  man,  in  the  state  of  youth,  man- 
hood, or  old  age.  But  the  state  of  every  one  is  afterwards 
changed." — Heaven  and  Hell. 

"Many  persons  may  imagine  that  infants  are  for  ever 
infants  among  the  angels  in  heaven.  They  who  do  not 
know  what  constitutes  an  angel,  may  be  confirmed  in  this 
opinion  from  the  images  which  are  sometimes  seen  in 
churches,  where  angels  are  exhibited  as  infants.  But  the 
case  is  altogether  otherwise.  Intelligence  and  wisdom 
constitute  an  angel;  and  so  long  as  infants  are  without 
intelligence  and  wisdom,  although  they  are  associated  with 
angels,  they  are  not  yet  angels.  When  they  become  intel- 
ligent and  wise,  then  they  first  become  angels.  I  have, 
indeed,  been  surprised  to  see  that  they  then  no  longer 


HEATHEN  AKD   GENTILES  IN  ANOTHER  LIFE.      221 

appear  as  infants,  but  as  adults,  for  they  are  then  no 
longer  of  an  infantile  disposition,  but  of  a  more  mature 
angelic  character.  Intelligence  and  wisdom  produce  this 
maturity.  Infants  appear  more  adult  in  proportion*  as 
they  are  perfected  in  intelligence  and  wisdom,  and  thus  as 
youths  and  young  men,  because  intelligence  and  wisdom 
constitute  essential  spiritual  nourishment.  That  which 
nourishes  their  minds  nourishes  also  their  bodies,  from 
correspondence,  because  the  form  of  the  body  is  nothing 
but  an  external  form  of  the  interiors.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  infants  who  grow  up  in  heaven  do  not  advance 
beyond  early  youth,  but  remain  in  that  state  to  eternity. 
That  I  might  be  assured  of  this,  it  has  been  granted  me  to 
converse  with  some  who  were  educated  as  infants  in 
heaven,  and  who  had  grown  up  there.  I  have  also  spoken 
with  some  when  they  were  infants,  and  afterwards  with 
the  same  when  they  had  become  young  men,  and  heard 
from  them  the  progression  of  their  life  from  the  one  age 
to  the  other."  (IMd.)  . 

As  the  child,  we  are  told,  grows  up  to,  but  does  not 
advance  beyond  early  youth,  so,  Swedenborg  informs  us, 
that  those  who  die  in  old  age,  return  gradually  in  appear- 
ance to  the  state  of  early  youth,  and  remain  thus  forever. 

XXXI. 

On  the  State  and  Condition  of  the  Heathen  and 
Gentiles  in  another  Life. 

~T~TT~E  cannot  do  better  than  to  make  a  few  short  ex- 
VV  tracts  from  a  communication  recently  published 
from  a  Hindoo  convert  to  Christianity,  Dadoba  Pandu- 
rung,  of  Bombay,  entitled  "A  Hindoo  Gentleman's  Ee- 
flections  respecting  the  works  of  Swedenborg,  and  the 
Doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem."  He  says : 

"What  parents,  whether  Christians  or  Heathen,  I  ask, 
would  not  feel  a  most  heartfelt  consolation  in  the  fate  after 
death,  as  it  is  described  by  Swedenborg,  of  the  little 


SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

children,  and  of  the  millions  of  heathens  who  are  dailj 
and  hourly  ushering  into  the  next  world,  but  who,  from 
their  helpless  and  unavoidable  condition,  are  precluded 
from  the  benefits  accessible  to  grown-up  Christians  of 
mature  age  and  consideration  ? 

"Christianity,  as  is  now  taught  and  preached  to  the 
world,  appears  to  me  to  be  almost  silent  on  the  important 
question  touching  the  fate  and  future  destiny  of  that  vast 
and  incalculable  number  of  human  beings  who  have  died, 
and  who  at  this  day  are  daily  dying  in  total  ignorance  of 
its  voice  ;  not  to  speak  of  that  inconceivable  number  of 
human  beings  who  had  occupied  and  left  this  our  earth 
during  a  period  of  thousands  of  years  previous  to  the 
advent  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  But  I  am  here  thinking,  and  thinking  quite  naturally, 
of  those  millions  of  millions  of  heathens  who  have  died 
and  are  daily  dying  for  want  of  the  requisite  good  in  their 
case,  viz. :  the  blessings  of  Christianity.  I  am  not  refer- 
ring to  those  who  have  led  wicked  and  sinful  lives — to 
the  avaricious  and  worldly  men  who  have  never  turned  to 
their  God  with  a  penitent  heart,  for  the  fate  of  such  per- 
sons is  the  same,  whether  they  be  in  Christendom  or  in 
heathendom ;  but  I  refer  particularly  to  such  Gentiles  as 
have  led  a  virtuous  life,  of  which  it  may  be  predicated  that 
it  cannot  be  otherwise  than  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  nor  can  it  ever  be  affirmed  that  heathendom  is  alto- 
gether devoid  of  pious,  good,  and  virtuous  men  and  women, 
for  such  an  assertion,  in  my  opinion,  amounts  to  a  gross 
blasphemy.  In  reference  to  such  queries  as  these,  in  order 
to  remove  our  over  anxiety  on  the  subject,  we  are  no  doubt 
sometimes  shown  such  small  passages  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  as  Deut.  x.  17;  2  Chron.  xix.  1;  Prov.  xxiv. 
12;  Matt,  xvi.  27;  Eom.  x.  6  to  14;  Gal.  vi.  7,  8;  1  Peter 
i.  17,  in  the  assurance  that  they  will  satisfy  our  curiosity. 
But  these  are  shown  with  such  trembling  hands  and  flat- 
tering words,  as  to  leave  the  general  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  heathens,  that  eternal  damnation  is  their  in- 


HEATHEN   AND   GENTILES   IX  ANOTHER  LIFE.       223 

evitable  lot.  In  this  state  of  universal  diffidence  and 
despondency,  which  affect  the  mind  if  not  the  heart  of 
many  a  Christian  minister  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
according  to  his  natural  temperament,  when  expressing 
his  opinion  on  this  point,  the  Church  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem comes  forward  with  a  degree  of  boldness  and  assurance 
which  the  Gentiles  will  surely  hail  with  welcome,  to  pro- 
mulgate its  true  doctrine  on  this  most  momentous  ques- 
tion. This  church  explicitly  teaches  us  that  the  heathens 
and  Gentiles  who  have  led  a  virtuous  life  will  receive  the 
truth  in  the  world  of  spirits,  have  as  much  right  to  enter 
into  the  gates  of  heaven  as  the  Christians  themselves. 
In  the  case  of  the  heathens  there  is  a  course  of  Christian 
knowledge  and  instructions  which  they  have  to  go  through, 
and  which  they  had  not  had  an  opportunity  to  obtain 
while  on  the  earth :  but  which  the  universal  benevolence 
of  the  Heavenly  Father  of  all  mankind  has  provided  for 
them  in  the  intermediate  state,  under  the  loving  care  of 
ministering  angels.  These  appear  to  me  to  be  not  only 
noble  but  correct  sentiments,  which  must  surely  be  con- 
fessed by  those  Christians  who  have  not  allowed  their 
minds  to  be  contracted  by  the  preaching  of  bigoted  and 
narrow-minded  ministers. 

"Then  Swedenborg  goes  on  reasoning  very  cogently, 
showing  in  the  relation  of  his  vision  of  heaven  that  good 
and  pious  heathens  have  as  easy  an  entrance  into  heaven 
as  the  good  and  pious  Christians  themselves ;  of  course, 
after  their  being  perfected  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord, 
and  of  His  unalterable  mercy  in  having  so  far  condescended 
as  to  have  assumed  the  form  of  a  man  on  our  earth,  to 
show  to  the  whole  human  race  the  way  of  salvation — a 
fact  on  which  most  of  the  Christians  have  but  a  vague 
and  imperfect  notion.  In  one  place  in  the  same  chapter, 
Swedenborg  says,  and  says  not  without  sufficient  reason, 
that  the  Gentiles  of  the  present  day  enter  heaven  more 
easily  than  Christians  themselves  in  accordance  with  these 
words  of  the  Lord  in  Luke :  '  Then  shall  they  come  from 


224  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

the  east  and  from  the  west,  and  from  the  north  and  from 
the  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
And,  hehold,  there  are  last — who  shall  be  first,  and  there 
are  first  who  shall  be  last'  (chapter  xiii.  29-30).  In  these 
words,  and  in  fact  in  the  whole  description  of  his  '  Heaven 
and  Hell/  Swedenborg  appears  to  me  to  have  actually  taken 
away  the  very  sting  out  of  the  dread  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, which  the  preaching  and  writing  of  a  great  body  of 
the  Christian  clergy  appears  to  inflict  on  the  whole  of 
heathendom,  and  on  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  Christen- 
dom; for  according  to  their  teaching  no  one  shall  be  saved 
except  those  few  who  conform  themselves  to  the  dogmas 
of  their  respective  churches.  Strictly  speaking,  according 
to  the  spirit  of  Protestantism,  the  whole  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  world,  and,  according  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
the  whole  of  the  Protestant  world,  as  heretics,  and  to  both, 
the  whole  of  the  still  wider  world  abroad,  as  infidels  and 
heathens,  are  indiscriminately  destined  to  everlasting  per- 
dition ;  with  this  exception,  that  the  Romish  Church  offers 
a  kind  of  respite  in  the  shape  of  their  purgatory,  in  which 
their  opponents  might  take  breath,  and  repent  of  their 
folly,  while  Protestantism  peremptorily  demands  of  you  an 
unconditional  surrender.  In  this  dilemma  the  Church  of 
the  New  Jerusalem  appears  to  me  as  coming  forward  for 
our  rescue,  showing  us  the  true  state  of  things ;  by  offering 
for  our  consideration  both  sides  of  the  question,  very  fairly 
and  reasonably,  that  we  may  with  alacrity  enter  on  the 
long  but  narrow  path  upwards,  which  ultimately  leads  us 
to  heaven,  there  to  enjoy  all  the  degrees  of  a  blessed  and 
happy  life,  and  also  to  shun  the  short  but  broad  path 
downwards,  which  leads  us — if  our  nature  be  so  incorrigi- 
bly perverse  as  not  to  be  reclaimable  even  in  the  spiritual 
world— to  hell." 

"In  his  ' Arcana  Coelestia'  the  illustrious  author  has 
devoted  full  seventeen  numbers  (from  No.  2589  to  No. 
2605)  to  this  important  question — '  Concerning  the  state 
and  condition  in  another  life  of  the  nations  and  people 


HEATHEK  A^D   GENTILES   II*  ANOTHER  LIFE.       225 

who  are  born  out  of  the  pale  of  the  church/  I  cannot 
here  make  full  extracts  of  these ;  but  the  following  short 
ones,  in  addition  to  what  I  have  already  given,  will  amply 
show  the  true  position  which  the  heathens  occupy  under 
the  teaching  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  Swedenborg  says : 

"'I  have  had  abundant  information  that  the  Gentiles 
who  have  led  a  moral  life,  and  have  been  obedient,  and 
have  lived  in  mutual  charity,  and  have  received  somewhat 
like  conscience  agreeable  to  their  religion,  are  accepted  in 
another  life,  and  are  there  instructed  by  the  angels  with 
the  utmost  care  in  the  goodness  and  truth  of t  faith. — 
Arcana  Ccelestia,  No.  2590.  *  *  *  *  *  * 

For  with  respect  to  Christians  and  Gentiles  in  another 
life,  the  case  is  this :  Christians,  who  have  acknowledged 
the  truths  of  faith,  and  at  the  same  time  have  led  a  life  of 
good,-  are  accepted  in  preference  to  the  Gentiles"  (quite 
true),  "  but  such  Christians  at  this  day  are  few  in  number  " 
(very  true  indeed) ;  "  whereas  the  Gentiles  who  have  lived 
in  obedience  and  mutual  charity  are  accepted  in  preference 
to  the  Christians  who  have  not  led  a  good  life 9 — (undoubt- 
edly}. 

"  Thus  Swedenborg  goes  on  to  say  many  things  concern- 
ing the  heathens  and  Gentiles  whom  he  conversed  with  in 
the  spiritual  world,  as  is  amply  shown  in  his  grand  work, 
' The  Arcana  Coelestia/ in  his  'True  Christian  Eeligion/ 
and  in  his  '  Heaven  and  Hell.'  They  claim  the  perusal 
and  consideration  of  the  Christians  and  heathens  alike. 
It  is  not  to  be  understood  from  my  above  and  other 
observations  in  this  address,  which,  I  comprehend,  may  be 
considered  as  expressive  of  my  excessive  and  undue  sym- 
pathy for  the  fate  of  the  heathens,  that  I  entertain  any 
lurking  wish  to  exonerate  my  brethren,  the  heathens,  from 
the  great  and  awful  responsibility  which  attaches  to  their 
position  as  sinners  and  answerable  beings  before  the  tribu- 
nal of  God,  or  rather  liability  to  suffer  the  consequences  of 
their  sins  and  delinquency,  and  to  make  light  of  the  bur- 
den under  which  they  labor  in  common  with  Christians. 


226  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

It  is  far  from  my  avowed  purpose  to  endeavor  to  screen 
them,  under  the  cloak  of  their  ignorance  of  Christianity, 
from  the  punishment  which  they  duly  deserve  in  the  other 
world ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  in  any  way  to  encourage 
them  to  seek  for  refuge  under  the  comfortable  asylum  of 
that  ignorance,  in  defiance  of  the  loud  calls  which  Chris- 
tianity makes  to  them  from  outside  for  a  thorough  investi- 
gation of  its  claim,  as  it  is  said  to  be  the  only  religion 
revealed  by  God  to  man  for  his  salvation,  and  if  satisfied 
with  the  validity  of  its  claim,  to  seek  eagerly  for  that  sal- 
vation which  it  holds  out  to  sinners.  But  my  chief  object 
in  thus  evincing  sympathy,  if  it  be  so  called,  in  the  cause 
of  the  heathens  in  the  present  address,  is  to  seek  to  excul- 
pate such  of  them,  and  them  only,  whose  ears  its  call  has 
not  reached,  nor  eyes  its  light  seen,  from  the  hard  and 
awful  denunciation  with  whicli  they  are  menaced  by  a 
large  and  inconsiderate  portion  of  the  Christian  preachers. 
But  it  is  to  be  clearly  understood  that  to  those  who  have 
no  such  excuse  to  urge  in  their  defence  it  is  not  in  my 
contemplation  to  extend  any  sympathy  at  all.  They  shall 
have  their  own  cause  to  answer  and  plead  before  the  tribu- 
nal of  God,  if  they  stand  convicted  of  this  most  culpable 
negligence  in  a  case  which  concerns  the  vital  interest  of 
their  own  souls  in  the  world  to  come/' 

We  will  close  this  section  with  a  few  extracts  from 
Swedenborg's  own  writings: 

"  The  church  of  the  Lord  exists  with  all  in  the  universe 
who  live  in  good  according  to  their  religious  principles, 
and  acknowledge  the  Divine  Being;  and  they  are  accepted 
of  the  Lord  and  go  to  heaven." 

"It  is  a  common  opinion,  that  those  persons  who  are 
born  out  of  the  limits  of  the  church,  and  are  called  Gen- 
tiles or  heathens,  cannot  be  saved,  because  they  do  not 
possess  the  Word,  and  thus  are  ignorant  of  the  Lord ;  and 
it  is  certain  Jbhat,  without  the  Lord,  there  can  be  no  salva- 
tion. Nevertheless,  that  salvation  is  open  to  these  also,  is 
a  truth  which  might  be  inferred  from  these  considerations 


HEATHEN"  AND  GENTILES  IN  ANOTHER  LIFE.       227 

alone :  That  the  Lord's  mercy  is  universal,  or  extends  to 
every  individual;  that  they  are  born  men,  as  really  as 
those  who  are  born  within  the  church,  who  are  but  few  in 
comparison ;  and  that  their  being  ignorant  of  the  Lord  is 
no  fault  of  their  own.  Every  person  who  thinks  from  a 
rational  faculty,  in  any  degree  enlightened,  may  see  clearly 
that  no  man  can  be  born  designedly  for  hell ;  since  the 
Lord  is  Love  itself,  and  His  Love  consists  in  desiring  the 
salvation  of  all.  On  this  account  He  provides  that  all 
should  be  attached  to  some  religion,  and  should  possess, 
by  means  of  it,  the  acknowledgment  of  a  Divine  Being 
and  interior  life,  since  to  live  according  to  a  religious 
belief  is  to  live  interiorly ;  for  a  man  then  has  respect  to 
a  Divine  Being,  and  so  far  as  he  does  this  he  does  not  look 
to  the  world,  but  removes  himself  from  the  world,  conse- 
quently from  the  life  of  the  world,  which  is  exterior  life." 

"  That  Gentiles  are  saved  as  well  as  Christians,  may  be 
known  to  those  who  are  aware  what  it  is  that  constitutes 
heaven  with  man ;  for  heaven  is  in  man,  and  those  who 
have  heaven  in  themselves  go  to  heaven  after  death.  It 
is  heaven  in  man  to  acknowledge  a  Divine  Being,  and  to 
be  led  by  him.  The  first  and  chief  essential  of  all  religion 
consists  in  acknowledging  a  Divine  Being ;  and  a  religion 
which  does  not  include  this  acknowledgment,  is  no  re- 
ligion at  all.  *  *  *  It  is  known  that  the  Gentiles  live 
a  moral  life  as  well  as  Christians,  and  many  of  them  better. 
Men  live  a  moral  life,  either  from  regard  to  the  Divine 
Being,  or  from  a  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  people  in 
the  world;  and  when  a  moral  life  is  practiced  out  of 
regard  to  the  Divine  Being,  it  is  a  spiritual  life.  Both 
appear  alike  in  their  outward  form,  but  in  their  inward 
they  are  completely  different ;  the  one  saves  a  man,  but 
the  other  does  not ;  for  he  that  lives  a  moral  life  out  of 
regard  to  the  Divine  Being,  is  led  by  Him ;  but  he  who 
does  so  from  regard  to  the  opinion  of  people  in  the  world 
is  led  by  himself." 

"The  Gentiles  cannot  profane  the  holy  things  of  the 


22S  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

church  like  Christians,  because  they  are  not  acquainted 
with  them."  "  They  are  afraid  of  Christians  on  account 
of  their  lives."  "  Those  who  have  lived  well,  according  to 
their  religious  principles,  are  instructed  by  the  angels,  and 
easily  receive  the  truths  of  faith,  and  acknowledge  the 
Lord,"  "for  they  have  not  formed  for  themselves  any 
principles  of  falsity  opposed  to  the  truths  of  faith,  which 
would  need  to  be  first  removed." 

"Although  Gentiles  are  not  in  genuine  truths  during 
their  life  in  the  world,  they  receive  them  in  the  other  life 
from  a  principle  of  love.  The  Africans  are  most  beloved- in 
heaven  of  all  the  Gentiles,  for  they  receive  the  goods  and 
truths  of  heaven  more  easily  than  others.  They  particularly 
desire  to  be  called  obedient,  but  not  faithful;  Christians, 
they  say,  may  be  called  faithful,  because  they  possess  the 
doctrine  of  faith  ;  but  they  themselves  not  so,  unless  they 
receive  that  doctrine,  or,  as  they  express  themselves,  are 
able  to  receive  it." — Heaven  and  Hell. 

"Many  in  the  other  world,  who  come  from  parts  of  the 
globe  outside  of  Christendom,  and  who  have  been  wor- 
shippers of  idols,  have  the  utmost  horror  of  hatred  and 
adultery,  and  are  afraid  of  Christians  who  indulge  in  these 
vices,  and  make  no  scruple  of  torturing  their  fellow 
creatures.  *  *  *  Gentiles  who  have  lived  morally, 
being  in  mutual  charity  and  innocence,  are  regenerated  in 
the  other  life.  During  their  abode  in  the  world,  the  Lord 
had  been  present  with  them  in  charity  and  innocence, 
both  of  which  proceed  wholly  from  Him.  He  had  also 
endowed  them  with  conscience  of  what  is  right  and  good 
according  to  their  religious  principles,  and  into  that  had 
insinuated  innocence  and  charity;  and  when  these  are 
present  in  the  conscience,  persons  easily  become  principled 
in  the  truth  and  faith  grounded  in  good." — Arcana 
Ccelestia. 


THE  CHURCH   OF  THE   FUTURE.  229 


XXXII. 

The  New  Jerusalem.—  The  Church  of  the  Future. 
—  The  Crown  of  all  Churches. 


is  but  one  Saviour  —  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  — 
JL  and  there  is  but  one  road  to  heaven,  and  that  is  a 
spiritual  road  which  every  man  must  perseveringly  and 
faithfully  travel  for  himself,  or  he  will  never  reach  the 
Heavenly  City.  We  enter  that  road  when  we,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  a  Divine  Being,  sincerely  repent  of  our  evil 
deeds,  and  we  walk  in  it  when  we  earnestly  strive  to  live 
a  life  according  to  the  commandments,  shunning  evils  as 
sins  against  God,  and  act  honestly  and  justly  towards  our 
fellow-men,  and  endeavor  to  do  good  to  all  as  opportunity 
offers.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  the  one  God  in  one  Divine  Person,  is  the  corner- 
stone of  the  New  Jerusalem.  This  is  a  central  doctrine 
around  which  all  true  doctrines  revolve  like  the  planets 
around  the  sun.  Let  us  cease  following  men  and  look  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  salvation  and  to  the  sacred 
Scriptures  for  light  to  guide  "us,  and  especially  to  the 
latter  as  unfolded  by  the  Lord  in  the  writings  of  Emanuel 
Swedenborg  for  this  incoming  new  age,  and  the  truth  will 
make  us  free  from  the  shackles  of  sectarianism,  and  from 
sect  and  man  worship.  The  exaltation  of  faith  and  the 
doctrines  which  a  man  believes,  and  the  sect  to  which  he 
belongs,  above  the  life  which  he  lives,  together  with  the 
'  claiming  and  usurpation  of  spiritual  dominion  in  matters 
of  faith  by  man  over  his  fellow-man,  and  denying  to  men 
religious  freedom,  has  brought  the  first  Christian  Church 
to  its  end  and  split  it  into  its  innumerable  fragments.  In 
the  beautiful  allegory  of  creation  in  the  first  chapters  of 
Genesis,  where,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  the  regeneration 
and  fall  of  man  are  described,  Cain  denotes  faith  and 
Abel  charity  ;  and  when  Cain  destroyed  Abel  he  became 
a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond,  and  thus  faith  ever  becomes 


..30  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

when  it  destroys  charity ;  it  separates,  puffs  up,  alienates 
and  arrays  man  against  his  fellow-man,  and  sect  against 
sect.  The  seer  for  the  New  Jerusalem  informs  us  that 
if  charity  had  retained  its  proper  place  in  the  Christian 
Church  differences  of  belief  would  not  have  separated 
and  divided  the  church,  but  men  would  have  been  allowed 
in  freedom  to  hold  their  own  views  so  long  as  they  lived 
good  Jives.  Every  man  should  look  to  the  Lord,  and  read 
and  judge  for  himself;  for  it  is  only  that  which  he  in 
freedom  intelligently  perceives  to  be  true,  and  carries  out 
in  his  daily  life,  which  tends  to  build  up  a  heavenly  life 
within  him.  A  blind  assent  to  doctrines  and  creeds,  or 
a  blind  following  of  teachers,  amounts  to  little.  In  this 
new  dispensation  men  are  to  receive  truth  because  they 
perceive  it  to  be  true,  and  not  on  the  authority  of  a  man, 
or  men,  or  of  a  church  even.  Teachers  must  prove  their 
doctrines  true  and  good,  or  prepare  to  see  them  rejected. 

The  Christian  should  recognize  but  one  leader — the 
Lord;  but  he  should  not  fail  to  recognize  a  brother  in 
every  man  who  believes  in  a  Supreme  Being  and  is  striv- 
ing to  lead  a  good  life ;  for  the  Lord  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  and  the  Christian's  charity  should  manifestly 
extend  to  all  of  his  Father's  children. 

The  prevalence  of  a  spirit  of  genuine  charity — a  charity 
which  thinketh  no  evil,  but  strives  to  excuse  rather  than 
accuse,  and  can  tolerate  in  a  fellow-man  an  honest  differ- 
ence of  opinion,  without  offence,  is  to  be  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  church  of  the  future,  or  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  and  another  is  Freedom;  for  spiritual  liberty, 
Swedenborg  has  shown  us,  has  been  restored  to  man. 
"  How  has  such  liberty  been  restored  to  man  ?  "  the  reader 
may  inquire. 

If  we  read  carefully  the  fifth  and  twelfth  chapters  of 
John,  we  shall  find  that  the  Lord,  when  on  earth,  ex- 
ecuted a  general  judgment,  for  He  declared:  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is, 
when  th  o  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 


THE   CHURCH   OF  THE   FUTURE.  231 

they  that  hear  shall  live."  "Now  is  the  judgment  of  this 
world:  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out." 
This  judgment  of  course  took  place  in  the  spiritual  world, 
where  all  last  judgments  are  executed,  for  man  is  to  be 
judged  for  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  It  is  a  recognized 
doctrine  that  the  New  Testament  predicts  another  general 
judgment.  This,  like  the  judgment  which  occurred  when 
the  Lord  was  on  earth,  was  to  take  place  in  the  spiritual 
world ;  but  something  must  be  said  in  regard  to  that 
world,  that  one  not  versed  in  the  new  revelation  may  un- 
derstand the  subject. 

Sweden borg  found  the  inhabitants  of  the  spiritual 
world  divided  into  three  grand  divisions,  which  he  de- 
nominates the  world  of  spirits,  heaven  and  hell.  The 
ruling  love  of  every  individual  here  governs  his  destiny 
hereafter;  and  as  most  individuals  when  they  leave  this 
world  are  neither  angels  nor  devils,  but  are  in  preparation 
for  one  or  the  other  of  these  states  of  life  (as  all  angels 
and  devils  are  from  the  human  race),  it  follows  that  they 
cannot  at  once  enter  either  heaven  or  hell.  Therefore 
they  tarry  in  the  world  of  spirits,  which  is  an  intermediate 
state,  until  the  good  are  cleansed  from  all  false  doctrines, 
ideas,  and  thoughts,  and  purified  from  all  evil  inclinations, 
when  they  are  received  into  heaven.  The  evil  confirm 
themselves  more  and  more  fully  in  their  false  views  and 
evils,  until  they  have  put  away  even  the  semblance  of 
genuine  truths  and  heavenly  desires,  when  they  go  volun- 
tarily or  from  choice  among  their  like  in  hell,  for  they 
cannot  be  happy  in  heaven.  All  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven,  he  found,  acknowledge  and  worship  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  one  only  God  and  Saviour,  and  are 
actuated  by  love  to  the  Lord  and  neighbor  in  all  their 
acts,  words,  and  thoughts,  each  striving  to  do  good  to  all; 
consequently  no  penal  laws  or  punishments  are  required, 
fo.r  every  one  is  striving  to  keep  the  Divine  command- 
ments, love  to  the  Lord  and  neighbor  constituting  heaven. 
All  in  hell  deny  the  Lord  and  His  Word;  deny  that  a 


232  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

man  can  act  from  any  higher  motive  than  selfishness,  and 
are  actuated  in  all  they  do,  say,  and  think,  by  some  selfish 
love.  The  supreme  love  of  self,  or  of  ruling  over  others, 
or  of  wealth,  display,  or  of  sensual  gratification,  in  hell,  as 
in  this  world,  arrays  man  against  his  fellow-man,  and  can 
never  be  fully  gratified  ;  but  it  must  be  restrained  there, 
as  here,  by  laws  and  punishments,  or  life  in  hell  would  be 
unendurable,  in  fact,  worse  than  no  existence.  Self-love 
and  supreme  selfishness  constitute  hell,  as  love  of  the 
Lord  and  neighbor  do  heaven.  Heaven  is  not  a  place 
into  which  a  man  can  be  let  as  a  matter  of  favor; 
but  heaven  must  be  in  us,  and  heavenly  affections  must 
rule  us,  before  we  can  enter  heaven,  and  the  way  to  heaven 
is  a  life  according  to  the  Commandments.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  world  and  the  life  of 
men  there,  contained  in  the  revelations  made  through 
Sweden borg,  has  a  practical  relation  to  the  life  of  men 
here,  and  shows  us  as  in  a  glass  that  our  every-day  acts, 
words,  and  thoughts  are  developing  our  very  souls  into 
the  image  ol  heaven  or  hell,  and  we  are  now  journeying 
towards  the  uno  or  the  other  state  of  life  slowly  but  surely. 
The  evil-doer  shall  not  go  unpunished,  nor  the  honest 
and  good  man  fail  of  his  reward,  but  every  one  will  receive 
a  just  reward  and  recompense  for  all  the  deeds  done  here. 
God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself, 
and  His  tender  mercies  are  around  all  His  creatures,  as 
well  in  hell  as  in  this  world  and  heaven ;  but  He  compels 
no  x)ne  here  to  love  Him  and  his  neighbor  supremely; 
and  He  cannot  do  it  hereafter,  without  destroying  the 
manhood  of  man,  and  this  He  never  does. 

Previous  to  the  Lord's  first  coming,  and  between  that 
and  His  second  coming,  Swedenborg  informs  us,  those 
who  left  this  world  unprepared  for  either  heaven  or  hell, 
remained  in  the  world  of  spirits,  or  the  intermediate  state, 
and  formed  vast  societies  there,  or  imaginary  heaveng; 
and,  as  the  world  of  spirits  is  immediately  associated  with 
man,  in  the  course  of  time  influx  from  them  into  the 


THE   CHURCH   OF  THE   FUTURE.  233 

minds  of  men  began  seriously  to  endanger  man's  spiritual 
freedom. 

It  was  in  this  intermediate  world  that  Babylon  the 
Great  was  gradually  developed.  Those  whose  externals 
appeared  holy,  whilst  their  internals  were  profane,  who 
transferred  the  merit  and  righteousness  of  the  Lord,  and 
attributed  Divine  things  to  themselves,  dwelt  there. 
There,  in  that  great  city,  self-love,  and  love  of  rule  and 
dominion  from  self-love,  were  predominant,  and  held 
dominion  over  and  imprisoned  the  simple  good,  in  that 
world,  as  well  as  their  votaries  have  done  in  this  world; 
destroying  their  freedom  and  rationality,  until  their  cry 
went  up :  "  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou 
not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth?" 

Then,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  the  Lord  came  for  judg- 
ment, and  now  Babylon  the  Great  has  fallen — fallen  to 
rise  no  more  forever.  The  freedom  of  man  in  spiritual 
things  was  endangered  in  this  world  by  the  selfish  love  of 
rule  in  his  fellow-man,  and  the  Lord  has  interposed  for  his 
rescue. 

"Emanuel  Swedenborg,  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  happened  to  be  the  man  endowed  and  commis- 
sioned to  observe  and  report  it ;  not  by  his  own  seeking, 
but  by  Providential  allotment;  not  on  account  of  any 
superior  innate  merit  existing  in  him,  but  simply  for  the 
sake  of  the  truth,  and  the  consequent  well-being  of  all 
Christian  men.  To  a  single  seer  was  given  the  wonderful 
vision  which,  'by  signs'  sent  from  Jesus  Christ,  prefigured 
and  described  all  these  extraordinary  things  1600  years  in 
advance  ;  and  so  to  another  single  seer  was  it  given  to  be- 
hold their  fulfilment:  looking  through  the  'veil'  while 
they  were  going  on,  that  he  might  note  them,  record 
them,  and  publish  them,  as  an  epistle  'to  the  churches/ 
He  was  in  a  state  of  the  spirit,  and,  like  John,  enjoyed  an 
open  or  sensible  communion  with  the  beings  of  the  other 
world." — Light  on  Last  Tilings* 


234  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

Swedenborg  assures  us  that  he  witnessed  this  judgment 
in  the  spiritual  world.  That  it  was  commenced  and  fully 
ended  during  the  year  1757;  and  that  hereafter,  all  men 
are  judged  as  they  leave  this  world.  He  wrote  a  small 
work  entitled,  "The  Last  Judgment/"  in  which  he  care- 
fully described  that  judgment  as  it  was  executed  on  the 
various  Christian  societies  and  heathen  nations  in  the 
world  of  spirits.  Those  who  were  interiorly  good,  were 
separated  from  those  who  were  interiorly  evil;  the  former 
class  were  removed  to  heaven,  the  latter  to  hell.  And  thus 
was  the  world  of  spirits  renovated,  and  the  dense  clouds  of 
evil  spirits,  which  threatened  the  freedom  and  very  exist- 
ence of  mankind  by  interrupting  the  inflowing  of  truth 
and  love  from  the  Lord  and  the  angels,  were  removed. 

The  reader  may  inquire,  how  were  these  two  classes  of 
spirits  separated,  and  why  were  they  not.  permitted  to 
dwell  together  as  good  and  evil  men  do  in  this  world,  and 
as  they  had  been  previously  doing  in  the  world  of  spirits  ? 
The  truth  judges.  When  the  Lord  came  for  judgment 
and  there  was  a  new  inflowing  of  truth  into  the  minds  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world  of  spirits,  unveiling  the 
hypocrisies,  the  pretenses,  and  the  shams,  so  that  the 
real  intentions  and  motives  were  apparent  to  every  qne, 
we  can  very  readily  see  how  and  why  they  separated. 
The  hidden  things,  the  lust  for  dominion  over  his  fellow, 
for  selfish  gratification,  the  envying,  jealousies,  and  real 
hatreds  were  proclaimed  upon  the  housetop.  In  such 
an  unveiling  of  man's  interior  life,  it  is  evident  that  like 
will  turn  to  the  society  of  like,  for  they  can  find  no  other 
congenial  associates.  We  know  that  even  in  this  world 
similarity  of  tastes,  habits,  pursuits,  and  character  draw 
people  together. 

The  Rev.  Chauncey  Giles,  in  his  very  interesting  work, 
entitled  "The  Nature  of  Spirit  and  Man  as  a  Spiritual 
Being,"  says: 

"The  doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem  simply  carry  out 
this  universal  principle  to  its  legitimate  conclusions.  They 


THE   CHUECH   OF  THE  FUTUItE,  235 

have  the  logic  of  the  Divine  order,  as  it  is  embodied  in  the 
creation  and  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men.  It  is  a  con- 
clusion also  which  every  good  and  every  wicked  man  must 
desire,  if  he  understands  his  own  nature.  A  wicked  man  i 
cannot  be  happy  in  the  presence  of  the  good.  *  Heaven' 
would  be  a  perfect  hell  to  him.  What  delight  could  a 
1  supremely  worldly  and  selfish  man  find  in  loving  the  Lord 
and  the  neighbor?  in  doing  good  to  others?  What 
pleasure  could  the  impure  find  in  purity?  the  proud  in 
humility?  the  ambitious  and  tyrannical  in  serving  others? 
Their  whole  nature  must  be  reversed  before  they  could  find 
any  delight  in  these  heavenly  virtues.  What  we  inmostly 
and  really  love  is  what  we  call  good.  It  is  and  ever  must 
be  the  measure  of  our  good,  and  must  determine  its  quality. 
We  can  no  more  escape  from  it  than  we  can  escape  from 
the  laws  of  gravitation.  Men  desire  to  escape  hell  because 
it  is  a  place  of  torment;  and  to  go  to  heaven  because  they 
think  it  is  a  place  of  happiness.  Bat  they  forget  that 
what  is  happiness  to  one  is  torment  to  another.  They 
forget  that  freedom  from  punishment  is  not  happiness. 
If  every  law  was  abolished  in  the  land,  and  every  peniten- 
tiary leveled  with  the  ground,  it  would  have  no  effect  in 
making  wicked  men  delight  in  what  is  good.  They  would 
rejoice,  no  doubt,  that  they  could  freely  indulge  in  their 
wicked  desires.  But  these  would  soon  react  upon  them  in 
some  form  of  punishment,  and  in  the  end  they  would  gain 
no  happiness  by  it.  No.  If  those  heavenly  principles, 
which  constitute  the  kingdom  of  God,  are  not  formed 
within  us — if  we  have  not  made  them  our  own,  by  actual 
life — we  can  never  taste  a  heavenly  joy.  We  pronounce 
judgment  upon  ourselves,  in  the  spiritual  world,  in  the 
same  way  we  do  in  this  world.  The  wicked  man  seeks 
hell  there  as  he  does  here,  because  he  is  drawn  to  it  by  his 
infernal  delights — the  only  delights  he  is  capable  of  enjoy- 
ing ;  and  he  is  drawn  to  it  by  the  current  of  his  desires,  as 
a  vessel  is  drawn  to  the  ocean  by  the  current  of  a  stream/3 
But  the  reader,  unacquainted  with  the  revelations  made 


236  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE    REVELATION. 

by  Swedenborg,  may  reasonably  inquire:  "If  such  a  won- 
derful event  as  the  long-expected  Last  Judgment  took 
place  in  the  world  of  departed  spirits  more  than  a  century 
ago,  what  signs  have  we  of  it,  for  it  would  certainly  seem 
time  that  some  results  or  effects  of  such  a  great  change 
should  be  seen  in  this  world  ?  " 

In  reply  to  the  above  we  will  first  call  the  attention  of 
the  reader  to  the  changes  in  the  state  of  mankind  on 
earth,  which  Swedenborg  and  the  angels  anticipated  at 
the  time,  or  soon  after  the  Judgment,  would  and  must 
follow;  then  the  reader  will  be  able  to  judge  whether 
those  anticipations  are  being  realized  or  not.  Swedenborg 
says: 

"The  great  change  which  has  been  effected  in  the 
spiritual  world,  does  not  induce  any  change  in  the  natural 
world  as  regards  the  outward  form ;  so  that  the  affairs  of 
states — -peace,  treaties  and  wars,  with  all  other  things  be- 
longing to  civil  communities,  in  general  and  in  particular- 
will  exist  in  the  future  as  they  have  existed  in  the  past.  *  *  * 
But  with  respect  to  the  state  of  the  church,  this  will  be 
dissimilar  hereafter.  It  will  be  similar,  indeed,  in  the  out- 
ward form,  but  dissimilar  in  the  inward.  To  outward 
appearance  divided  churches  will  exist,  and  their  doctrines 
will  be  taught,  as  heretofore ;  and  the  same  religions  will 
exist  among  the  Gentiles  as  at  present.  But  henceforth 
the  man  of  the  church  (that  is,  the  men  of  Christendom 
generally)  will  be  in  a  more  free  state  of  thinking  on  mat- 
ters of  faith,  that  is,  on  spiritual  things  which  relate  to 
heaven,  because  spiritual  liberty  has  been  restored  to 
him.  *  *  * 

"  I  have  often  conversed  with  the  angels  respecting  the 
state  of  the  church  hereafter.  They  said  they  did  not 
know  the  things  that  were  to  come,  since  such  knowledge 
belongs  to  the  Lord  alone ;  but  that  they  did  know  that 
the  slavery  and  captivity  in  which  the  man  of  the  church 
was  formerly,  is  removed ;  and  that  now,  from  restored 
liberty,  he  can  better  perceive  interior  truths  if  he  wishes 


THE   CHURCH  OF  THE  FUTURE.  237 

to  perceive  them,  and  thus  be  made  more  internal  if  he 
desires  it."  (L.  J.  n.  73,  74.) 

"The  state  of  the  world  and  the  church  before  the  last 
judgment  was  as  evening  and  night ;  but  after  it,  as  morn- 
ing and  day." — "For  since  communication  with 'heaven 
has  been  restored  by  the  last  judgment,  man  is  able  to  be 
enlightened  and  reformed;  that  is,  to  understand  the 
divine  truth  of  the  Word,  to  receive  it  when  understood, 
and  to  retain  it  when  received ;  for  the  interposing  obsta- 
cles are  removed."  (Contiti.  L.  J.  n.  12.) 

Again  he  says: 

"  After  the  last  judgment  was  accomplished  there  was 
light  in  the  world  of  spirits,  because  the  infernal  societies 
which  were  removed  [by  that  judgment],  had  been  inter- 
posed like  clouds  which  darken  the  earth.  A  similar  light 
also  then  arose  in  men  in  the  world,  giving  them  new 
enlightenment."  (Ibid.,  n.  30.) 

How  wonderfully  the  above  expectations  have  been  and 
are  being  realized  in  the  recent  history  of  the  world! 
Physical  slavery  has  been  largely  abolished,  and  ere  long, 
it  is  manifest,  it  will  only  be  known  in  history.  Ecclesias- 
tical despotism  is  rapidly  passing  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  We  have  seen  the  most  formidable  manifestation 
of  this  power  which  the  world  has  ever  witnessed,  stripped 
of  its  civil  power  in  our  day,  and  its  ability  to  persecute 
and  oppress  in  a  great  measure  destroyed.  Take  courage, 
ye  lovers  of  freedom,  for  God  wills  the  overthrow  of  both 
civil  and  religious  despotism  and  slavery.  He  has  over- 
thrown their  central  power  in  the  spiritual  world,  and 
they  cannot  long  retain  an  existence  in  this  world.  What 
can  the  puny  arm  of  man  do  to  prevent  this  great  and 
wonderful  change,  which  is  so  rapidly  progressing  in  our 
day.  Fear  not;  God  is  mightier  than  either  civil  or 
ecclesiastical  despots,  and  physical  and  mental  slavery  are 
never  to  be  re-established,  but  men  are  to  be  free,  in  the 
church  of  the  future— the  New  Jerusalem — and  are  to 
claim  their  freedom,  especially  in  matters  of  religion  ;  for 


23S  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   EEVELATION. 

without  religious  freedom  there  can  be  no  progress.  Every 
man  should  insist  on  the  right  of  private  judgment  in 
religious  matters,  as  a  right  too  sacred  to  be  surrendered. 
Swedenborg  says : 

"  The  dogma  that  the  understanding  is  to  be  held  in 
subjection  to  faith,  is  rejected  in  the  New  Church ;  and 
in  its  place  this  is  to  be  received  as  a  maxim,  that  the 
truth  of  the  church  should  be  seen  in  order  that  it  may  be 
understood;  and  truth  cannot  be  seen  otherwise  than 
rationally.  How  can  any  man  be  led  by  the  Lord  and 
conjoined  to  heaven,  who  shuts  his  understanding  against 
such  things  as  relate  to  salvation  and  eternal  life  ?  Is  it 
not  the  understanding  that  is  to  be  illumed  and  instructed  ? 
And  what  is  the  understanding  closed  by  religion  but 
thick  darkness,  and  such  darkness,  too,  as  rejects  the  light 
that  would  illumine?  "  (A.  R.  564.) 

"The  understanding  truly  human,  when  ifc  is  separate 
from  what  is  material,  sees  truths  as  clearly  as  the  eye  sees 
objects.  It  sees  truths  as  it  loves  them ;  for  as  it  loves 
them  it  is  enlightened.  The  angels  have  wisdom  in  con- 
sequence of  seeing  truths ;  therefore  when  it  is  said  to  any 
angel  that  this  or  that  is  to  be  believed  although  it  is  not 
understood,  the  angel  replies,  Do  you  think  that  I  am  in- 
sane, or  that  you  yourself  are  a  god  whom  I  am  bound  to 
believe?"  (Ap.  Ex.  1100.) 

"  Since  the  Lord  desires  that  everything  which  comes 
from  Himself  to  man  should  be  appropriated  as  man's 
own  (for  otherwise  there  would  be  no  conjunction  of  man 
with  the  Lord),  therefore  it  is  a  law  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence that  a  man's  understanding  and  will  should  not  be 
at  all  compelled  by  another."  (Ap.  Ex.  1150.) 

Thus  the  New  Jerusalem  is  as  free,  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  as  it  is  catholic.  It  encourages  the  largest  liberty  of 
thought,  the  utmost  freedom  of  religious  inquiry.  It 
would  have  us  acknowledge  no  master  but  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  He  reveals  Himself  to  our  individual  conscious- 
ness, as  we  search  the  Scriptures  in  the  light  of  this  new 


THE   CHURCH   OF  THE   PUTUKE.  239 

day.  Its  language  is,  "  Every  one  should  be  led  in  freedom 
according  to  reason." 

In  his  work  on  the  "  Divine  Providence/'  "  Swedenborg 
declares  more  emphatically  than  any  other  writer  has  ever 
done,  that  freedom  and  rationality  are  the  distinguishing 
feature  between  man  and  beast,  and  that  in  these  two 
faculties,  the  very  human  principle  consists." — Rev.  R.  L. 
Tafel 

It  is  not  simply  in  the  restoration  of  human  freedom 
that  the  consequences  of  the  Last  Judgment,  and  of  the 
Lord's  Second  Coming,  are  alone  to  be  seen;  for  as  a 
recent  writer  truly  says :  "  Eesults  such  as  no  human  fore- 
sight could  have  ventured  to  predict  are  around  us  on 
every  side  in  a  profusion  which  baffles  every  effort  of  array 
or  description.  Science,  art,  thought,  in  every  direction, 
bas  been  stimulated  by  the  new  impulses  thence  commu- 
nicated., Society  wears  a  new  aspect ;  we  live  in  a  new 
world.  Never  has  there  been  so  full  and  so  ample  a  con- 
firmation of  any  man's  saying  as  that  which  has  followed 
Swedenborg's  declaration  that  in  his  time  a  new  age  and 
new  dispensation  were  commencing,  which  would  prove 
to  be  the  culminating,  crowning  day  and  dispensation  of 
the  world's  history.  Were  we  to  maintain  that  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  since  has  done  more  for  the 
cause  of  human  improvement  than  the  whole  five  thousand 
years  that  went  before,  it  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to 
gainsay  the  assertion.  That  this  short  period  has  done 
more  in  this  direction  than  any  previous  one  thousand 
years  that  have  gone  before,  no  one  will  be  inclined  to 
doubt.  In  other  words,  the  very  first  century  of  the 
Lord's  second  advent  has  done  more  to  elevate  and  redeem 
mankind  than  any  ten  centuries  of  His  first  advent  were 
able  to  accomplish." — Light  on  Last  Things. 

Swedenborg  says:  "In  the  spiritual  world  to  which 
every  man  goes  after  death,  it  is  not  the  character  of  your 
faith  into  which  inquiry  is  made,  nor  of  your  doctrine,  but 
9.f  your  life,  whether  it  has  been  of  this  character  or  that; 


»40  SKEPTICISM   AND    DIVINE    REVELATION. 

for  it  is  known  that  such  as  a  man's  life  is,  such  is  his 
faith — nay,  more,  such  is  his  doctrine ;  for  life  forms  its 
doctrine  and  faith  for  itself."  (D.  P.  101.)  "  For  the  good 
01  life  according  to  one's  religion  contains  within  it  the 
affection  of  knowing  truths,  which  such  persons  also 
learn  and  receive  when  they  come  into  the  other  life." — 
(A.  C.  455.) 

"  Evils  which  belong  to  the  will,  are  what  condemn  a 
man  and  sink  him  down  to  hell ;  and  falsities  only  so  far 
as  they  become  conjoined  with  evils;  then  one  follows  the 
other.  This  is  proved  by  numerous  instances  of  persons 
who  are  in  falsities,  and  yet  are  saved."  (Ibid.  845.) 

"There  are  two  things  to  be  remembered.  First,  that  a 
person  may  love  God  and  his  neighbor,  and  yet  believe 
some  things  that  are  false.  Under  such  circumstances, 
untruth  does  not  hurt  him.  False  doctrine  is,  indeed,  a 
deadly  thing;  but  all  deadly  things  do  not  hurt;  for  our 
Saviour  says  of  his  true  disciples,  If  they  drink  any  deadly 
tiling ,  it  shall  not  hurt  them.  Secondly,  a  person  may  have 
no  love  of  God,  and  yet  maintain  true  doctrine.  In  this 
case  he  is,  nevertheless,  not  a  true  disciple  of  Christ.  The 
first  has  within  him  the  essence  of  a  true  church,  but  not 
the  perfect  doctrinal  form ;  the  second  has  the  doctrinal 
form,  but  not  the  real  essence.  A  church  composed  of 
individuals  such  as  the  latter,  would  nevertheless  not  be 
a  church ;  there  might  be  an  outward  appearance  of  life 
and  health,  but  inwardly  there  would  be  nothing  but  death 
and  corruption." 

"  When  love  to  the  Lord  and  charity  toward  the  neigh- 
bor, that  is,  the  good  of  life,  are  regarded  as  the  essentials, 
then,  however  many  churches  there  be,  they  make  one. 
This  also  is  the  case  in  heaven,  where  there  are  innumer- 
able societies,  all  distinct  from  each  other,  but  still  consti- 
tuting one  heaven  because  all  are  principled  in  love  to  the 
Lord  and  charity  toward  the  neighbor.  But  the  case  is 
otherwise  with  churches  that  make  faith  (or  belief)  the 
essential  thing — imagining  that  if  people  know  or  think 


THE  CHUKCH   OF  THE   FUTURE.  241 

such  and  such  things  they  will  be  saved,  be  their  life  what 
it  may.  Then  several  churches  do  not  make  one,  nor 
indeed  are  they  churches." 

Again  Swedenborg  says:  "There  are  two  things  which 
conjoin  the  men  of  the  church,  viz :  Life  and  doctrine. 
When  life  conjoins,  doctrine  does  not  separate  them  ;  but 
if  only  doctrine  conjoins  them,  as  at*  this  day  is  the  case 
within  the  church,  then  they  mutually  separate,  and  make 
as  many  churches  as  there  are  doctrines:  when  yet  doc- 
trine is  for  the  sake  of  life,  and  life  is  from  doctrine.  If 
only  doctrine  conjoins,  they  separate  themselves,  as  is 
evident  from  this,  that  he  who  is  of  one  doctrine,  con- 
demns another  person,  sometimes  to  hell ;  but  if  life  con- 
joins, doctrine  does  not  separate,  as  is  evident  from  this, 
that  he  who  is  in  goodness  of  life,  does  not  condemn 
another  who  is  of  another  opinion,  but  leaves  it  to  his 
faith  and  conscience,  and  extends  this  rule  even  to  those 
who  are  out  of  the  church;  for  he  says  in  his  heart,  that 
ignorance  cannot  condemn  any  if  they  live  in  innocence 
and  mutual  love,  as  infants  who  also  are  in  ignorance 
when  they  die."  (A.  C.  4468.) 

Yet  Swedenborg  does  not  leave  us  to  infer  that  the 
belief  in  false  doctrines  is  harmless,  especially  if  we 
strongly  confirm  ourselves  in  such  views ;  for  it  is  exceed- 
ingly difficult  and  painful  for  a  man,  even  a  good  man,  to 
get  rid  of  such  falses  either  in  this  world  or  in  the  next. 
It  is  of  great  importance  that  truth  should  be  united  to 
good  in  this  world.  Swedenborg  says :  "  Those  who  are  in 
falses,  and  especially  those  who  are  in  evils,  are  said  to  be 
bound  and  in  prison;  not  that  they  are  in  any  bonds,  bufc 
because  they  are  not  in  freedom ;  those  who  are  not  in 
freedom  being  interiorly  bound;  for  those  who  have  con- 
firmed themselves  in  what  is  false,  are  no  longer  in  any 
freedom  of  choosing  and  accepting  the  truth,  and  those 
who  have  much  confirmed  themselves  therein,  are  not 
even  in  freedom  to  see  it,  still  less  to  acknowledge  and 
believe  it,  for  they  are  in  the  persuasion  that  what  is  : 
11 


242  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

is  true  and  what  is  true  is  false ;  so  powerful  is  this  per- 
suasion, that  it  takes  away  all  freedom  of  thinking  any- 
thing else,  consequently  it  holds  the  thought  itself  in 
bonds,  and  as  it  were  in  prison.  This  I  have  had  much 
opportunity  of  being  convinced  of  experimentally  from 
those  in  the  other  life  who  have  been  in  a  persuasion  of 
the  false  by  confirmations  in  themselves;  they  do  not  at 
all  admit  truths,  but  reflect  or  strike  them  back  again, 
and  this  with  an  obstinacy  proportioned  to  the  degree  of 
persuasion  ;  especially  when  the  false  is  grounded  in  evil, 
or  when  evil  has  persuaded  them."  (A.  C.  5096.) 

We  have  endeavored  to  give  the  reader  a  hasty  glimpse 
of  some  of  the  prominent  doctrines  and  teachings  of  the 
New  Jerusalem;  enough,  we  hope,  to  seriously  call  his 
attention  to  the  writings  of  the  Illuminated  Scribe  of  the 
Church  of  the  Future,  Emannel  Swedenborg. 

Eev.  B.  R  Barrett,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  diligent 
of  the  readers  of  Swedenborg's  writings,  says : 

"  Now,  if  I  were  called  upon  to  indicate  any  single  idea 
which  was  to  distinguish  pre-eminently  that  dispensation 
or  church  of  which  Swedenborg  was  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed herald — any  single  idea  that  towers  conspicu- 
ously above  all  others  in  his  writings,  I  should  say  it  is 
tho  idea  of  religion  as  a  personal  and  practical  thing ;  of 
religion  embodying  itself  in  good  and  useful  deeds;  of 
religion  carried  into  all  our  human  acts  and  relations, 
purifying  them  all,  sanctifying  them  all,  ennobling  them 
all.  And  this  idea  of  religion  in  our  common  every-day 
life,  so  eminently  characteristic  of  the  New  Theology, 
is  the  very  idea  which  has  been  steadily  growing  into 
favor  for  the  last  hundred  years  in  nearly  all  the 
churches. 

However  similar,  then,  in  their  creeds  and  in  outward 
appearance  the  churches  of  to-day  may  be  to  those  of  a 
hundred  years  ago,  it  is  clear  that  they  are  very  different 
internally.  They  have  different  ideas  and  purposes,  and 
are  animated  by  a  different  spirit.  And  every  year  this 


THE   CHUECH  OF  THE   FUTURE.  2*43 

difference  is  increasing,  and  becoming  more  and  more 
apparent. 

"  And  thus  it  is  that  the  New  Jerusalem  may  be  seen 
*  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God,  having  the  glory  of 
God.'  Thus  may  the  Lord  Himself  be  seen  coming  anew 
to  the  churches  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  His  now  un- 
sealed Word.  Thus  do  we  behold  Him  breaking  through 
and  dispersing  the  mists  of  naturalism,  and  gladdening 
the  hearts  of  his  sincere  followers  with  a  new  manifesta- 
tion of  Himself; — 'coming,'  agreeably  to  his  own  predic- 
tion, 'in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory/ 
Thus  may  a  New  Church  be  seen  slowly  forming,  not  as  a 
new  visible  institution — not  as  a  separate  and  distinct 
organization,  but  rather  as  a  new  spirit  and  life  entering 
into  the  great  heart  of  humanity  and  moulding  it  anew; 
comparatively  as  the  earth,  on  the  return  of  each  new 
spring-time,  receives  a  fresh  influx  of  the  solar  rays,  and 
so  becomes  a  new  earth  clad  afresh  with  verdure  and 
beauty.  A  church  not  antagonistic  to  existing  organiza- 
tions, but  cordially  sympathizing  with  and  reanimating 
them  all."— 17/0  Golden  City, 

The  late  Eev.  John  Clowes,  Rector  of  St.  John's  Church, 
Manchester,  England,  who  for  many  years,  without  ever 
being  required  to  sever  his  connection  with  the  Church  of 
England,  openly  and  boldly  taught  the  doctrines  revealed 
through  Swedenborg,  and  translated  many  of  his  works 
into  English,  says : 

"  JSTothi  ng,  therefore,  can  be  plainer,  than  that  the  New 
Jerusalem  Dispensation  is  to  be  universal,  and  to  extend 
in  ito  all  people,  nations,  and  languages  on  the  face  of  the 
e^fth,  to  be  a  blessing  unto  such  as  are  meet  to  receive  a 
blessing.  Sects  and  sectarians,  as  such,  can  find  no  place 
in  this  General  Assembly  of  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord. 
All  the  little  distinctions  of  modes,  forms,  and  particular 
expressions  of  devotion  and  worship,  will  be  swallowed  up 
and  lost  in  the  unlimited  effusions  of  heavenly  love,  charity 
and  benevolence  with  which  the  hearts  of  everv  member  of 


244  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

this  glorious  New  Church  and  Body  of  Jesus  Christ  will 
overflow  one  toward  another.  Men  will  no  longer  judge 
one  another  as  to  the  mere  externals  of  church  com- 
munion, be  they  perfect  or  be  they  imperfect;  for  they 
will  be  taught  that,  whosoever  acknowledges  the  incarnate 
Jehovah  in  heart  and  life,  departing  from  all  evil,  and 
doing  what  is  right  and  good  according  to  the  command- 
ments, he  is  a  member  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  a  living 
stone  in  the  Lord's  new  Temple,  and  a  part  of  that  great 
family  in  heaven  and  earth,  whose  common  Father  and 
Head  is  Jesus  Christ.  Every  one,  therefore,  will  call  his 
neighbor  Brother,  in  whom  he  observes  this  spirit  of 
charity;  and  he  will  ask  no  questions  concerning  the 
of  words  which  compose  his  creed,  but  will  be  satisfied 
with  observing  in  him  the  purity  and  power  of  a  heavenly 
life/' 

What  a  glorious  prospect  does  this  New  Dispensation 
open  to  our  race  ! 

"  The  last  great  campaign  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
upon  earth  is  opening  before  us,  and  the  inmost  heart  of 
Christianized  humanity  is  beating  in  unison  with  the 
movement ;  while  the  utterances  of  the  ancient  prophets 
become  the  sacred  watchwords  of  the  hour,  the  inspired 
directions  for  the  march,  and  the  songs  of  holy  joy  that 
are  set  to  the  music  of  the  camps."  *  *  * 

"All  nations  whom  Thou  hast  made  shall  come  and 
worship  before  Thee,  0  Jehovah,  and  shall  glorify  Thy 
Name."  *  *  * 

"  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad,  and 
the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  *  *  * 

"In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set 
up  a  kingdom  that  shall  never  he  destroyed ;  it  shall  break 
in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall 
stand  forever." 

"  And  there  shall  be  given  him  dominion  and  glory,  and 
a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages,  should 
serve  Him ;  His  dominion  is  the  dominion  of  an  age  which 


THE   CHURCH   OF  THE   FUTURE.  "245 

shall  not  pass  away,  and  His  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed."  *  *  * 

"  The  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord, 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  *  *  * 

"After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  My  law  in 
their  inward  parts  and  write  it  in  their  hearts ;  and  I  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  My  people;  they  shall  all 
know  Me  from  the  least  unto  the  greatest,  saith  Jehovah, 
for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their 
sin  no  more." 

"Thine  eyes  shall  see  Jerusalem  a  quiet  habitation,  a 
tabernacle  that  shall  not  be  taken  down ;  not  one  of  the 
stakes  thereof  shall  ever  be  removed,  neither  shall  any  of 
the  cords  thereof  be  broken."  "  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  men." 

"I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city,  New  Jerusalem,  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven." 

" f  Let  us  be  glad,  and  rejoice,  and  give  the  glory  unto 
Him/  that  our  lot  is  cast  in  these  latter  times ;  that  we  are 
permitted  to  live  at  the  day  in  which  all  these  things  are 
beginning  the  march  of  their  fulfillment,  and  that,  in  His 
merciful  provision  for  human  want,  the  Lord  has  caused 
to  break  forth  from  the  bosom  of  His  Word  a  system 
of  theology  and  philosophy,  not  man-made  but  heaven- 
descended,  which  leads — by  a  thousand  years— the  high- 
est aspirations  of  human  thought,  fitted  to  the  age — to 
serve  as  a  lamp  to  the  movement;  'the  glory  of  God 
to  lighten*  us,  and  to  instruct  us  aright  -in  these  great 
themes." 

"And  let  us,  one  and  all,  lend  our  hearts  and  our  hands 
to  this  movement;  working  where  we  stand  in  aid  of  its 
fulfillment,  and  helping,  as  far  as  in  as  lies,  to  bring  about 
in  our  time  some  of  its  blessed  results."—  Light  on  Last 
Things. 

The  senders  of  this  pamphlet  desire  again  affectionately 
and  earnestly  to  call  your  attention  to  the  writings  con- 
taining these  new  revelations,  from  our  ever-blessed  Lord 


246  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Three  large  volumes,  from 
among  the  most  important  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg's 
writings,  you  will  perceive  by  the  attached  circular  on  the 
second  page  of  the  cover,  are  furnished  to  Protestant  cler- 
gymen and  theological  students  studying  for  the  ministry 
without  money  and  without  price,  they  having  only  to  call 
and  get  them,  or  pay  the  postage  or  express  charges  on 
them,  and  request  them  to  be  sent,  to  receive  them.  That 
every  clergyman  and  theological  student  studying  for  the 
ministry  who  has  not  already  done  so,  will  immediately 
order  the  above  works,  is  the  desire  of  those  who  are  giving 
them,  and  that  the  Lord  may  open  their  understandings 
and  hearts  for  the  reception  of  the  heavenly  doctrines  of 
the  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem,  now  descending  from  God 
out  of  Heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
band, is  the  earnest  prayer  of  -every  disciple  of  the  New 
Dispensation. 

It  was  apparently  the  opinion  of  Swedenborg  that  his 
writings  would  be  read  by  the  clergy,  who  would  teach 
the  doctrines  therein  contained  to  their  congregations,  and 
thus  the  glorious  truths  for  this  new  era  or  crowning 
church,  would  be  spread  among  the  people ;  for,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  descent  of  the  New  Church  or  New  Jerusalem, 
from  God  out  of  Heaven,  he  says  it  can  only  take  place 
"in  proportion  as  the  falses  of  the  former  church  are 
removed,  for  what  is  new  cannot  gain  admission  where 
falses  have  before  been  implanted,  unless  those  falses  are 
first  rooted  out;  and  this  must  first  take  place  among  the 
clergy,  and  by  their  means  among  the  laity." 

We  thank  the  Lord  for  the  abundance  of  evidence  that 
this  process  is  rapidly  going  on  around  us  in  all  the 
churches,  and  to  do  what  we  can  to  hasten  on  this  great 
and  noble  work,  or  to  be  humble  instruments  in  the  Lord's 
hands  for  aiding  in  its  accomplishment,  is  our  sole  aim  in 
sending  these  few  words — a  brotherly  message — to  you. 
Not  as  sectarians  do  we  send  them,  for  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem; as  we  have  abundantly  shown  in  the  preceding  pages, 


THE   CHURCH   OE  THE   FUTURE,  24? 

is  not  a  sect,  but  a  New  Dispensation  of  divine  truth  for 
the  benefit  of  all  sects  and  all  men. 

XXXIII. 

The  Divine  Promise  to  those  who  Receive  the 
New  Jerusalem  at  the  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord. 

(BY  REV.   WM.    B.   HAYDEN.) 

"  Eemember  therefore,  how  thou  hast  received  and  heard, 
and  hold  fast,  and  repent.''  *  *  * 

"  I  know  th j  works :  behold  I  have  set  before  thee  an 
open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it:  for  thou  hast  a  little 
strength,  and  hast  kept  my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
name."  *  *  * 

"  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  tem- 
ple of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out:  and  I  will 
write  upon  him  the  name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the 
city  of  my  God,  which  is  New  Jerusalem,  which  cometh 
down  out  of  heaven  from  my  God :  and  I  will  write  upon 
him  my  new  name  "  (Rev.  iii.  3,  8,  12). 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  at  this  day  doing  a  remarkable 
work;  in  some  respects  one  of  the  most  remarkable  He 
has  ever  performed.  He  is  effecting  His  Second  Advent, 
and  is  beginning  to  establish  in  the  world  His  new  and  final 
church,  which  in  His  Word  He  calls  the  New  Jerusalem. 

He  has  caused  the  volume  of  His  Word  to  be  opened 
more  fully  to  human  apprehension,  the  prophetic  por- 
tions of  the  Bible  being  explained  as  to  their  spiritual  and 
heavenly  meaning;  while  that  pure  and  perfect  system  of 
True  Christian  Doctrine,  which  the  angels  of  heaven 
derive  from  the  Divine  Word,  has  been  revealed  for  cm- 
use  and  instruction,  and  written  out  in  the  language  of 
men  by  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  a  man  specially  illuminated 
by  the  Lord  for  this  purpose. 

This  wonderful  system  of  heavenly  truths  He  has  caused 
to  be  printed  and  circulated  in  books,  not  only  in  Latin, 


248  SKEPTICISM  AND  DIVINE  REVELATION. 

but  in  nearly  all  the  Christian  tongues,  so  that  they  may 
be  freely  promulgated  in  every  part  of  Christendom,  that 
whoever  will  may  partake  of  this  pure  river  of  water  of 
life  freely.  And  these  heavenly  truths  are  slowly  gather- 
ing together  the  New  Church,  for  they  are  freely  offered  to 
all,  and  all  who  will  may  receive  them  in  obedience  with 
affection,  and  confess  them  openly  before  and  among  men. 

Included  in  this  opening  and  explanation,  is  this  Book 
of  Eevelation,  given  through  John,  the  last  great  Book  of 
the  sacred  canon ;  the  enigma  of  Christian  scholars ;  now, 
with  its  seals  taken  off,  and  all  its  dark  sayings  made 
plain,  in  clear,  rational,  heavenly  light;  the  meaning  of 
every  chapter,  verse,  and  single  symbol  plainly  given,  so 
that  he  who  runs  may  read ;  a  feast  of  fat  things,  full  of 
marrow,  to  the  spiritually-minded  seeking  for  heavenly 
instruction  and  longing  to  know  more  of  the  Master's  will. 

The  Apocalypse  or  Book  of  Eevelation  is  the  especial 
book  of  this  New  Church,  for  it  is  the  book  devoted  to  the 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  predicting  the  particularity  of 
this  Advent,  with  all  the  attending  circumstances,  and  in  it 
the  New  Jerusalem  is  foretold  and  described.  In  its  pages, 
therefore,  now  illuminated  by  the  glory  of  their  own  heav- 
enly meaning,  we  have  a  divine  commentary  on  the  events 
by  which  we  are  surrounded,  on  the  wonderful  fulfillments 
of  prophecy  now  taking  place,  and  the  New  Age  or  Dispen- 
sation of  Christian  light  now  progressing  in  our  midst. 

In  these  epistles  which  John  was  commanded  to  write 
to  the  seven  churches  then  located  in  Asia  Minor,  in  their 
spiritual  or  prophetic  import,  we  behold  all  the  different 
classes  of  believers  in  Christendom  in  our  day  addressed. 
Addressed,  too,  in  earnest  tones  and  decided  terms,  by  our 
Lord  Himself,  speaking  to  us  out  of  heaven.  All  capable 
of  exercising  religious  affection  and  religious  thought  are 
here  appealed  to,  being  enjoined  to  lift  up  their  eyes,  and 
to  come. 

One  thing  particularly  is  noticeable  in  these  missives 
to  the  churches;  in  each  there  is  a  call  to  repentance* 


THE   DIYIKE   PROMISE.  249 

Many  other  things  likewise  are  spoken  of.  Each  church 
has  a  special  and  pointed  teaching  addressed  to  its  peculiar 
wants,  but  this  one  feature  is  common  to  them  all — they 
all  command  repentance.  This  reveals  a  leading  charac- 
teristic of  the  New  Dispensation;  which  is  that  now  there 
is  to  be  required  a  closer  conformity  to  the  divine  com- 
mandments than  ever  before.  All  men  are  called  upon  to 
put  on  more  fully  the  spirit  of  true  religion.  Not  only 
emotional  piety,  but  also  practical  obedience  in  daily  life  is 
required.  Entrance  into  the  New  Jerusalem  therefore  im- 
plies a  step  forward  for  every  one  who  comes,  a  new  degree 
of  religion,  and  advance  in  real  holiness  of  life  and  character. 

No  matter  where  these  new  heavenly  truths  find  us, 
whether  in  much  good  or  little  good,  whether  we  are 
professed  Christians  already,  or  indifferent,  or  unbelievers, 
the  call  is  to  all  alike,  to  leave  our  present  state  whatever 
it  is,  and  put  on  something  more  of  pure  and  true  religion, 
leaving  the  fallacies  of  the  senses  and  the  cupidity  of  the 
natural  man  still  further  behind  us.  New  and  greater 
spiritual  attainment  is  forcibly  insisted  upon,  and  the 
way  given  to  attain  it. 

Then,  after  having  risen  up  and  entered  this  New  Jeru- 
salem through  interior  amendment  of  life,  each  class  of 
religious  men  finds  in  these  seven  epistles  some  instruc- 
tion fitted  to  its  own  state.  Their  own  peculiar  short- 
comings are  pointed  out,  and  they  are  clearly  told  how 
they  may  grow  in  grace  and  spiritually  progress  towards 
the  angelic  state  of  life. 

"  Remember  therefore  how  thou  hast  received  and  heard, 
and  hold  fast"  These  words  are  addressed  to  those  who 
are  already  in  the  external  worship  of  the  church,  to 
nominal  or  professed  believers  in  the  truth.  They  are 
remarkable  words,  and  of  very  impressive  import.  They 
are  meant  particularly  for  us,  receivers  of  these  heavenly 
doctrines,  professed  believers  in  this  New  Age  and  Dis- 
pensation; and  they  are  calculated  to  arouse  the  con- 
science and  stimulate  a  holy  zeal  in  the  heart  of  every 


250  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   KEVELATION. 

true  and  earnest  believer.  We  who  have  heard  and 
listened  to  the  Truth,  who  have  heard  the  words  of  *  the 
New  Jerusalem,  who  know  that  the  Lord  has  come  a 
Second  time,  gathering  His  flock  and  setting  up  His  final 
kingdom,  are  enjoined  to  remember  how  we  have  received 
and  heard,  and  hold  fast.  The  Lord  would  impress  upon 
us  the  importance  of  holding  fast  to  these  new  truths, 
proclaiming  and  obeying  them. 

As  we  go  away  from  the  Sanctuary,  or  the  Word  and 
the  Writings,  back  into  our  worldly  employments,  and 
often  into  our  natural  selfish  and  worldly  states  of  thought 
and  feeling,  our  minds  become  cloudy.  Wre  are  apt  to 
think  remotely  of  our  religious  privileges.  We  think 
lightly  of  holy  truth ;  comparatively  lightly  of  the  heav- 
enly truths  now  revealed,  to  regard  slightingly  our  obliga- 
tions to  them,  our  obligation  to  heed  them,  to  value  them, 
to  uphold  them,  to  promulgate  them,  to  obey  them,  and  to 
openly  confess  them  before  men. 

But  from  all  we  read  in  His  Word,  and  all  we  know,  the 
Lord  Himself  does  not  so  lightly  regard  them.  We  hear 
no  such  indifferent  or  easy-going  language  on  His  part. 
Not  any  Laodicean — neither  cold  nor  hot— state  finds 
favor  in  His  eyes.  On  the  contrary,  all  His  words  on  the 
subject  come  forth  with  emphasis.  Search  the  Bible 
through,  and  nowhere  else  will  you  find  such  strong  and 
impressive  language,  or  appealing  more  forcibly  to  the 
heart  and  the  conscience,  than  this  employed  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation  with  respect  to  the  truths  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem. The  whole  heaven  is  powerfully  moved  and 
affected  by  the  utterances.  The  Lord  Himself  is  deeply 
in  earnest  when  He  proclaims  them  to  the  angels,  deeply 
in  earnest  when  he  sends  them  into  the  world  to  reclaim 
men  and  overturn  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and  deeply  in 
earnest,  too,  when  He  calls  upon  us  to  receive  and  obey  them. 

And  again,  closely  following  these  deeply  freighted  calls 
of  admonition  and  injunction,  what  blessed  words  of  en- 
couragement and  promise  fall  from  the  same  lips,  to  the 


THE   DIVINE    PKOMISE.  251 

steadfast  and  obedient  I  Such  as  have  been  held  out  to  no 
church  be-fore,  such  as  are  found  nowhere  else  in  the 
Bible.  Hear  them :  "  Behold,  I  have  set  before  thee  an  open 
door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it."  An  "  open  door ! "  Do  we 
realize  what  this  means  ?  In  view  of  all  it  implies,  how 
comprehensive  the  sense!  An  opening  such  as  has  never 
been  vouchsafed  to  mankind  before,  such  as  the  previous 
ages  have  never  seen,  and  yet  an  opening  promised  in  the 
Word,  and  the  hope  of  good  men  in  the  Christian  centu- 
ries of  the  past. 

1.  "A  door  into  heaven  opened/' 

The  heavenly  world  laid  open  to  view,  and  described  for 
our  use  and  instruction.  Not  to  satisfy  vain  curiosity,  or 
make  an  empty  show ;  but  to  make  immortality  real,  and 
encourage  purity  of  life  by  showing  that  only  the  really 
pure  and  good  can  enter  there.  Life  among  the  angels 
considered  and  described,  in  its  most  general  forms,  as 
comprehensible  by  men,  as  involved  in  the  teachings  of 
the  Holy  Word,  and  rendered  clear  by  a  more  exhaustive 
study  of  its  pages.  The  blessedness  of  heaven  brought 
near;  the  mutual  love  reigning  among  its  inhabitants, 
their  conjunction  of  heart  and  mind  with  the  Lord  our 
Kedeemer,  the  glorious  light  in  which  they  dwell,  their 
practical  wisdom,  their  ineffable  innocence  and  peace  of 
mind,  their  elevating  employments,  doing  the  Lord's  will 
in  innumerable  offices  of  love  and  good  use  to  members  of 
the  heavenly  kingdom,  as  well  as  to  mankind  on  earth — 
all  unfolded  in  clear  rational  light,  for  our  quickening  and 
encouragement. 

Then,  the  constitution  of  the  human  soul,  its  connec-  ' 
tion  with  the  body,  its  close  association  with  the  unseen 
world,  the  grounds  and  principles  of  future  judgment* 
with  the  miserable  results  which  persistent  sin  inflicts,  all 
made  known  for  our  admonition  and  warning,  to  separate 
us  more  and  more  from  disobedience,  and  attach  us  more 
firmly  to  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord ;  the  whole  involving 
such  an  opening  of  the  unseen  world  and  the  future  state 


252  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

of  existence,  as  could  scarcely  be  conceived  of  before  it  had 
come,  though  desired  and  waited  for  by  spiritual  men  in 
all  ages  of  the  church. 

And  this  door  never  again  to  be  shut :  this  elevating 
knowledge  of  the  heavenly  world  and  its  order,  recorded  in 
printed  books,  never  again  to  disappear  from  the  thought 
and  memory  of  man. 

2,  The  Great  Book  opened.     The  seven  seals  taken  off 
from  the  Bible,  its  heavenly  interpretation  written  out; 
wherein  all  its  divine  prophecies  find  their  true  and  final 
exposition ;  its  obscure  passages  cleared  up,  its  dark  say- 
ings brought  forth  in  light,  the  clouds  of  its  letter  every- 
where illuminated  with  the  heavenly  glory  of  their  spirit- 
ual meaning,  and  all  its  pages  shown  to  testify  concerning 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    The  real  nature  of  the  Divine 
Word  explained,   showing    that  as  to  its  deeper,  inner 
ground,  it  is  the  very  Divine  Truth  itself.     The  difference 
between  Letter  and  Spirit  made  clear,  and  how  the  spirit- 
ual sense,  like  a  soul,  dwells  everywhere  within  the  Letter, 
which  is  the  body ;  and  thus  the  real  nature  of  Divine  in- 
spiration exposed,  from  its  inmost  ground.     As  the  Lord, 
with  His  constant  presence,  dwells  in  the  Word,  in  its  in- 
terior meaning  and  essence,  and  the  angels  are  also  present 
in  its  spiritual   sense,  bringing   with   them  a  heavenly 
sphere  of  mental  light  and  heat,  the  Divine  Word  becomes 
the  medium  among  men  of  the  Presence  of  the  Lord  and 
His  Holy  Spirit,  and  a  medium  of  communication  with 
heaven  through  which  animating  floods  of  illustration  and 
warmth  may  flow  into  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  believer 
and  reverent,  faithful  student.  And  this  Holy  Word,  thus 
opened,  never  again  to  be  closed  up,  but  to  remain  forever 
as  an  open  door  to  heavenly  and  eternal  things. 

3.  Then,  again,  our  Lord  and  Saviour  declares  Himself 
to  be  the  Door;  a  door  in  the  Supreme  sense;  the  living 
door ;  the  great  avenue  or  medium  of  access  to  Supreme, 
unapproachable  Divinity.    And  how  this  Door  is  opened 
to  us  in  these  new  heavenly  or  angelic  Doctrines!    In 


THE   DIVIDE   PROMISE.  253 

which  the  one  eternal  Saviour  and  Kedeemer,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  reveals  Himself  to  us  at  length  in  all  the 
fullness  of  His  ineffable  glory,  as  the  One  supreme  and 
only  object  of  our  love  and  worship.  Declaring  to  us  from 
the  very  letter  of  His  Word  that  He  is  indeed  Jehovah 
Himself,  not  three  persons,  not  the  second  among  three, 
but  the  Only  One ;  dwelling  by  Himself  from  all  eternity, 
and  then  in  the  fullness  of  time  condescending  and  coming 
down  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost,  assuming 
humanity  for  our  sakes  and  appearing  in  the  world  as 
Immanuel,  God  with  us.  Thus  walking  our  earth,  not  as 
a  consecrated  and  holy  man  merely,  but  the  Lord  Himself, 
clad  in  the  outward  garments  of  a  man.  Glorifying,  by 
His  indwelling  Divinity,  all  the  originally  frail  elements 
derived  from  the  virgin  mother,  putting  them  off,  perfect- 
ing their  nature  by  filling  all  their  forms  with  pure  divine 
substances,  thus  making  even  His  human  part  perfectly 
divine  in  essence,  organizing  all  its  substance  anew,  so 
that  at  length  the  fullness  of  the  whole  Godhead  dwelt 
bodily  in  that  Human  Form,  without  confining  or  con- 
tracting its  infinity.  In  this  Glorified  Form  He  arose, 
and  ascended  into  .heaven,  where  He  forever  abides,  seated 
on  the  Throne  of  the  Universe,  including  in  His  own 
single  Person  all  that  is  meant  by  Father,  all  that  is  meant 
by  Son,  and  all  that  is  meant  by  Holy  Spirit:  the  three  in 
One  Person.  His  own  supreme,  eternal,  unapproachable 
Divinity  being  called  Father;  the  Humanity  which  He 
assumed  in  order  to  appear  in  the  world,  and  which  while 
in  the  world  He  glorified  and  made  Divine,  being  called 
the  Son ;  and  that  new  powerful  and  personal  presence 
and  influence  which  since  the  Incarnation  He  vouchsafes 
to  faithful,  obedient  believers,  being  called  the  Comforter, 
Paraclete,  Advocate,  or  Holy  Spirit.  Summing  for  us  in 
this  last  book  of  the  Sacred  Canon  the  final  doctrine  con- 
cerning Himself  in  these  memorable  words:  "I  am  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega;  the  Beginning  and  the  End;  the 
First  and  the  last ;  the  one  who  is  and  who  was  and  who 


254  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

is  to  come,  the  Almighty."  And  again  in  these,  at  the 
very  close  of  the  volume  :  "  I,  Jesus,  have  sent  Mine  angel 
unto  you  to  testify  these  things  in  the  churches."  Declaring 
also  that  He  is  both  the  Eoot  and  the  Offspring  of  David. 

Thus  showing  that  the  great  object  of  the  Biblical 
Bevelatioh,  in  its  progressive  development  from  end  to 
end,  is  to  bring  out  by  degrees  as  they  have  been  able  to 
bear  it,  and  at  length  make  clear  to  the  spiritual  appre- 
hension of  the  church,  the  great  vital  Supreme  Truth  that 
God  is  One  Person,  one  single  Person,  and  that  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  this  One  God. 

Thus  fulfilling  at  last,  and  in  our  day,  that  glorious 
prediction  and  promise  of  the  Apostle  that  the  time  would 
come  when  the  Saviour  would  vacate  that  subordinate, 
mediatorial  position,  which  to  the  partially-instructed 
intelligence  of  that  day  He  seemed  to  hold,  and  that  God 
would  be  seen  to  be  One,  the  "all  in  all." 

And  this  Door;  this  heavenly,  angelic  Doctrine  con- 
cerning our  Saviour  as  the  One  Only  Lord  and  God — 
never  to  be  closed  up  or  lost  sight  of.  Now  that  it  is 
revealed,  and  clearly  made  known  to  the  thought  and 
rational  intelligence  of  men,  it  is  henceforth  the  property 
of  the  church  universal  forevermore.  No  human  power 
can  prevail  against  it.  It  solves  the  great  problem  of  the 
Godhead ;  and  no  human  power  can  ever  drive  it  back  or 
push  it  out  of  the  world.  It  is  the  corner-stone,  the  stone 
of  power,  which  the  prophet  Daniel  in  holy  vision  saw  cut 
out  of  the  Eock  without  hands,  which  became  a  great 
mountain  and  filled  the  whole  earth. 

4.  The  Way  of  Life  opened.  In  these  heavenly  Doc- 
trines the  way  and  means  of  salvation  are  most  distinctly 
set  forth.  The  true  ideas  of  justification  and  imputation 
are  unfolded.  And  a  life  according  to  the  Divine  Com- 
mandment s  of  the  Holy  Word,  clearly  shown  to  be  the 
only  true  ground  of  hope  and  the  only  means  of  salvation. 
Faith  is  commanded,  Charity  or  Love  is  commanded, 
Good  Works  are  commanded.  All  are  required;  and 


THE   DIYIKE   PROMISE.  ,         255 

neither  one  is  to  be  emphasized  to  the  disparagement  of 
the  others.  Without  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord 
and  Saviour  there  is  no  salvation,  for  no  man  of  himself 
can  attain  the  holy  life,  and  regeneration  and  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  from  the  Lord  alone. 

Those  .who,  from  the  acknowledgment  of  a  Divine 
Being,  are  in  the  good  of  life,  who  through  ignorance  do 
not  acknowledge  the  Lord  in  His  Divine  Humanity  in 
this  world,  will  in  the  next,  before  they  can  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  The  ground  of  forgiveness  is  the  Divine 
Goodness,  Clemency,  or  Mercy,  while  the  simple  condition 
on  man's  part  is  Repentance  and  actual  departure  from 
evil.  Salvation  is  a  thing  of  degrees ;  the  further  we  are 
lifted  out  of  Sin  the  more  are  we  saved,  while  the  merit  or 
righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  to  the  believer  just  as 
fast,  and  to  the  degree,  that  he  actually  appropriates  that 
righteousness — in  his  own  character,  putting  on  the  image 
and  exemplifying  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  his  own  life. 

The  way  of  salvation  therefore  is  growth  in  holiness, 
which  is  measured  exactly  by  our  ceasing  from  sinful  acts 
and  affections,  and  our  practical  conformity  to  gospel  pre- 
cept. "  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and  doeth  them, 
he  it  is  that  loveth  me."  And  hence  the  great  blessing  pro- 
nounced in  the  New  Jerusalem  is,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  DO 
His  commandments,  that  they  may  have  right  to  the  Tree 
of  Life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city." 

And  in  these  doctrines  all  questions  are  answered  which 
Christians  desire  to  ask,  most  lucid  and  extended  expo- 
sitions being  given  of  all  the  vital  doctrines  of  grace  and 
life;  Eepentance,  Regeneration,  Charity,  Faith,  Good 
Works  and  the  Holy  Spirit;  so  that  no  one  is  any  longer 
left  in  the  dark,  or  in  obscurity,  or  doubt  with  respect  to 
any  vital  or  practical  point  of  religious  experience. 

And  this  door,  opening  thus  into  the  onward  and  up- 
ward way  to  heaven,  never  again  to  be  obscured  by  day, 
nor  shadowed  by  the  night.  These  heavenly  disclosures 
concerning  the  secrets  of  the  regenerate  or  holy  life  never 


256  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

again  to  be  taken  away  from  the  knowledge  of  men,  but 
through  the  divinely  provided  instrumentalities  of  the 
printing-press  and  the  pulpit,  to  be  widely  circulated  and 
diffused  for  the  free  use  of  all. 

5.  And  then,  the  Two  Holy  Sacraments  which  the  Lord 
has  given  for  the  safety  and  nurture  of  His-  Church, 
opened  and  explained.  Their  ineffable,  heavenly  uses 
made  clear:  their  inner  meaning  brought  out:  the  divine 
symbolism  of  their  forms  and  elements  declared,  and  in 
what  manner  they  connect  with  the  unseen  world,  and, 
when  worthily  celebrated,  bring  down  invisible  blessings 
thence  to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  recipients  and  par- 
takers. What  way  they  are  helps,  and  why  they  are 
calculated  to  ward  off  evil  and  feed  and  strengthen  man's 
spiritual  part,  clearly  and  rationally  shown.  Wherein  it 
is  seen  by  the  Christian  reason  that  they  are  indeed  truly 
Divine  ordinances,  channels  of  grace  and  blessing,  having 
a  permanent  and  living  connection  with  the  Lord  and  the 
heavenly  world. 

And  lastly,  what  a  reward  to  obedience  is  held  out! 
Enough  to  beget  and  inspire  effort  and  diligence  to  learn 
and  know  these  heavenly  truths,  and  then  with  God'?  help 
to  insure  our  steadfast  faithfulness  and  perseverance  unto 
the  end.  No  church  before  has  had  such  promises,  no 
church  before  has  had  such  helps  placed  within  its  reach, 
no  church  before  has  had  given  it  such  lofty  assurance  of 
hope.  These  words  alone  are  worthy  of  more  space  than 
can  be  spared  for  this  whole  section,  and  yet  their  own 
divine  simplicity  far  outweigh  anything  that  could  be 
added  by  human  language. 

"  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  tem- 
ple of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out:  and  I  will 
write  upon  him  the  name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the 
city  of  my  God,  which  is  New  Jerusalem,  which  cometh 
down  out  of  heaven  from  my  God :  and  I  will  write  him 
my  new  name."  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 


EMANUEL  SWEDENBORG,   THE  SEEB.  257 

XXXIV. 

Emanuel  Swedenborg,  the  Seer. 

u  r  I  ^HIS  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was 
-L    born  at  Stockholm,  on  the  29th  of  January,  1688, 
and  departed  this  life  on  the  29th  of  March,  1772,  in  the 
85th  year  of  his  age. 

"He  was  the  son  of  Jasper  Swedborg,  Bishop  of  Skarra,  in 
Sweden,  and  was  educated  in  the  most  pious  and  affection- 
ate manner.  He  says  of  himself,  that  he  was  delighted, 
when  a  child,  to  hear  his  father  and  friends  speak  of  God, 
faith,  and  salvation ;  and  his  father  says  of  him,  that  such 
were  the  pious  and  remarkable  sayings  of  his  son  Emanuel, 
that  they  often  thought  angels  spoke  by  his  mouth.  He 
was  educated,  and  highly  distinguished  himself,  at  the 
University  of  Upsal,  and  was  so  much  remarked  for  his 
extraordinary  mathematical  attainments  that,  in  1716,  at 
the  age  of  28,  he  was  offered  the  choice  of  a  professorship, 
or  the  office  of  assessor,  or  superintendent  extraordinary, 
of  the  Board  of  Mines,  by  the  King  of  Sweden,  Charles 
the  Twelfth.  He  chose  the  latter,  and,  during  the  thirty- 
one  years  which  he  spent  in  that  office,  combined  with  his 
travels  in  every  country  of  Europe,  he  acquired  such  a 
fund  of  learning  as  astonished  and  delighted  all  who 
admired  and  promoted  philosophic  study;  and  he  was 
made  a  member  of  almost  all  the  learned  societies  in 
Europe.  During  this  -period  he  produced  seven  works  on 
various  scientific  subjects,  and,  at  length,  his  great  work 
in  three  volumes,  folio,  entitled  '  Opera  Philosophica,'  all 
written  in  Latin.  He  subsequently  composed  four  other 
works,  ( The  Prodromus,'  '  The  Economy  of  the  Anima] 
Kingdom,'  '  The  Animal  Kingdom,'  and  '  On  the  Worship 
and  Love  of  God.'  In  these  works  he  forestalled  many  of 
the  sublimest  and  grandest  discoveries  which  have  since 
immortalized  the  names  of  several  of  our  greatest  men. 
Ho  anticipated  Dalton  in  the  atomic  theory,  Wollastou 


258  SKEPTICISM  AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

in  crystallography,  Monro  in  the  anatomy  of  the  brain, 
Wilson  in  the  character  and  vitality  of  the  globules  of  the 
blood,  and  Gauss,  Hansteen,  Sabine,  Humboldt,  and  others 
in  the  magnetic  theory  of  the  universe.  He  was  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  following  sublime  facts  and  doctrines : 

"  1.  The  precise  situation  of  our  sun,  with  its  planetary 
system,  in  the  starry  universe  to  which  it  belongs.  2.  The 
progressive  advancement  along  the  Milky  Way,  from  west 
to  east,  of  our  sun  with  his  spheres,  and  all  the  starry  host 
of  the  visible  heavens. 

"After  having  exhibited  this  wonderful  excellence  in 
natural  knowledge,  and  holding  a  very  high  position  in 
the  very  first  ranks  of  philosophy,  in  1743,  when  he  was 
in  his  fifty-fifth  year,  his  mind  became  gradually  opened 
to  perceive  the  objects  of  the  spiritual  world ;  and  during 
two  years  this  state  of  development  was  going  on,  until  it 
was  completed  in  1745,  when  the  Lord  himself  appeared 
to  him,  and  commissioned  him  to  make  known  the  science 
of  correspondences,  which  explains  the  spiritual  sense  of 
His  Word,  and  which  he  could  fully  perceive  verified  in 
heaven.  He  learned,  also,  the  laws  of  the  eternal  world, 
and  the  true  doctrines  of  the  Word  for  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem. That  such  a  state  is  possible,  all  the  cases  of  those 
whose  visions  are  recorded  in  the  Bible  prove.  This  state, 
which  was  that  of  a  Seer,  was  continued  during  the  rest  of 
his  life,  that  is,  nearly  thirty  years.  He  had  the  constant 
privilege  of  seeing  the  inner,  or  spiritual  world,  as  well  as 
the  outer,  or  natural  world.  He  wrote,  during  this  period, 
works  in  explanation  of  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word  of 
God,  equal  to  twenty  volumes;  unfolding,  sentence  by 
sentence,  the  whole  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  and  the  book  of 
Kevelation,  and  introducing  and  explaining  so  many 
passages  from  the  rest  of  the  Bible,  as  to  open  to  the 
devout  and  spiritually-minded  reader  the  interior  sense  of 
the  whole  Divine  Word. 

"He  wrote  also  his  'Treatise  on  Heaven,  Hell,  and  the 
World  of  Spirits ; '  and  in  several  of  his  other  works  he 


EMANUEL   SWEDENBORG,   THE   SEER.  259 

describes  Ms  experience  derived  from  his  acquaintance 
with  the  spirit  life,  giving  a  rational  and  harmonious 
account  of  it,  and  of  the  constitution  and  life  of  the 
human  soul.  Besides  these,  he  composed  works  on  Chris- 
tian Doctrine,  from  the  Four  leading  Doctrines — of  the 
Lord,  the  Sacred  Scripture,  Faith,  and  Life — for  the  New 
Jerusalem,  to  his  last  work,  'The  True  Christian  Be- 
ligion/  These  relieve  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  from 
those  oppositions  to  reason,  which,  hatched  in  the  dark 
ages,  have  rendered  religion,  which  should  be  the  light 
and  the  hope  of  the  soul,  perplexing  to  all,  and  impossible 
to  be  embraced  by  millions  of  well-disposed  thinking  men. 

"Few,  who  know  anything  of  his  pure,  truthful,  pious 
life — of  his  system,  which  is  entirely  an  embodiment  of 
truth  and  love — and  of  his  calm  declaration  on  his  death- 
bed, will  imagine  he  was  an  impostor.  His  life,  through 
his  long  career,  is  declared  by  a  host  of  witnesses— by  all, 
in  fact,  who  have  testified  to  their  knowledge  of  him — to 
have  been  what  Sandel,  the  nobleman  who  made  the 
oration  in  his  praise  after  his  death  in  the  Swedish  House 
of  Nobles,  Oct.  7,  1772,  said:  ' Never  did  he  allow  himself 
to  have  recourse  to  dissimulation.  He  was  the  sincere 
friend  of  mankind;  and  in  his  examination  of  the  char- 
acter of  others,  he  was  desirous  to  discover  in  them  this 
virtue,  which  he  regarded  as  an  infallible  proof  of  the 
presence  of  many  more.  He  was  cheerful  and  agreeable 
in  society.  He  enjoyed  the  most  excellent  health,  having 
scarcely  ever  experienced  the  slightest  indisposition.  Con- 
tent within  himself  and  with  his  situation,  his  life  was,  in 
all  respects,  one  of  the  happiest  that  ever  fell  to  the  lot 
of  man,  till  the  very  moment  of  its  close.' 

"  The  clergyman  who  attended  Swedenborg  during  his 
last  illness,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ferelius,  after  having  asked 
whether  he  thought  he  should  die,  and  been  answered  by 
Swedenborg  that  he  should,  made  a  very  solemn  appeal  to 
him  to  say  if  his  writings  were  entirely  true.  Swedenborg 
raised  himself  in  his  bed,  arid  placing  his  hand  on  his 


260  SKEPTICISM   AND   DIVINE   REVELATION. 

breast,  said,  with  great  zeal  and  emphasis,  '  As  true  as  you 
see  me  before  you,  so  true  is  everything  I  have  written ; 
and  I  could  have  said  more  had  I  been  permitted.  When 
you  come  into  eternity,  you  will  see  all  things  as  I  have 
stated  and  described  them,  and  we  shall  have  much  to 
discourse  about  them,  with  each  other.'  He  then  took  the 
Holy  Supper,  and  presented  the  clergyman  with  a -copy  of 
his  'Arcana  Ccelestia.'  This  is  not  the  life  and  death  of 
a  deceiver.  His  works,  though  so  numerous,  are  con- 
sistent and  harmonious  throughout.  His  system  is  a 
grand  whole — every  principle  having  its  place,  and  the 
whole  being  complete,  magnificent,  and  beautiful,  beyond 
anything  the  world  can  elsewhere  show.  It  is,  at  the  same 
time,  fully  scriptural,  and  always  in  harmony  with  science; 
and,  above  all,  the  universe  is  seen  to  have  been  created, 
and  to  be  sustained,  by  the  infinite  love,  wisdom,  and 
power  of  the  Divine  Man,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
from  eternity  was  the  Father,  in  time  for  man's  redemp- 
tion became  the  Son,  and  whose  spirit  is  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  system  gives  a  complete  and  rational  account  of  the 
laws,  life,  and  scenery  of  heaven — the  land  of  the  blessed ; 
answering  all  our  inquiries  respecting  our  children,  our 
departed  friends,  and  the  merciful  arrangements  of  Divine 
Providence  for  their  resurrection.  It  affords  a  plain  and 
rational  account  also  of  hell,  and  shows  it  to  be  the  result 
of  unjust  and  unholy  principles  wrought  out  to  their 
extremes  of  sin,  folly,  and  misery.  It  informs  us  also  of 
the  intermediate  state — not  purgatory,  but  the  world  of 
spirits,  the  land  of  judgment;  the  world,  too,  where  the 
mistakes  of  ignorance  and  of  false  doctrines  in  religion 
are  corrected ;  so  that  our  blessed  Lord  may,  out  of  tha 
good  of  all  religions,  form  one  fold,  with  one  Shepherd-^ 
a  grand  spiritual  house  with  many  mansions." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


RECTO   -^ 


-oenr 


;£C-D  LD 


NQV    5 


LD  21A-50m-4,'GO 
(A9562slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


YC134792 


M75886 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


The  List  of  Books  on  this  page  and  the  .  allowing  pagv 
cover,  will  be  sent  on  receipt  of  price,  postage  prepaid,  \.j  E.  J!:- 
SWINXEY,  No.  20  Cooper  Union,  New  York  City. 

For  new  readers,  it  is  suggested  to  select -front  among  SWEDE: 
BORG'S  own  works  one  or  more  of  the  following,  viz.  : 

Heaven  and  Its  Wonders;  The  World  of  Spirits  an! 

Hell.     Frbm  things  seen  and  heard  therein $1  2 

The  Divine  Providence .......    12* 

The  True  Christian  Religion 25 

The  Apocalypse  Revealed,  2  vols 3  CM 

Conjugal  Love 1  2«| 

Divine  Love  and  Wisdom. 1  O  f 

After  the  reading  of  the  above,  the  student  of  these  writings  wil 
.  be  measura'J;*  prepared  for 

The  Arcana  •  Cycles!  *  a,  10  vol*     A   i™  per  volume...*!'  5'j 
(The  entire  work  may  be  pr^  ;i    1  at  one  time  for..$l.  .) 

':  is  an  expcblllc.:  of  the  spirit  ua^  sense  of  Gei  sis  ai,  ; 
Exodus,  and  incidentally  o:  portions  of  the  Prophets  and  -?saln^  I 
as  well  as  other  portions  of  thfe  Word. 

The  urst  volume  is  an  exposition  of  the  first  .eleven  chapters'  oi 
Genesis. 

The  Four  I  ending  Doctrine?     -gl  OC 

Tliis  v/ork  embraces  the 

/  Doctrine  of  the  L<o. 

]  Doctrine  of  tlie  Sacred  Scripture, 

iThe  Doctrine  of  Faith, 

\  The  Doctrine  of  Life. 

The  Earths  in  the  Universe  (Limp) 

The  Last  Judgment  (Cloth) , .75 

Miscellaneous  Theological  Works.                 ....    1  5O 
A  Compendium  of  Swedeiiborg's  Theological 
Writings 3  5O 

This  worl  pitome  of  all  his  religious 

from  more  than  thirty  volumes  and  OK 
lus  fundtuuontiil  -|)nnci])leg,  with  copious  illusi  ?; 


